The Turquoise Tie

The Turquoise Tie

It was sweet back then with Radio Luxembourg under the blanket

When our songs were all at sea stolen by Pirate Radio

Crazy Radio Caroline, in my head music

I began my night by counting my change, had enough for five cigarettes

Got a good feeling, the night is young

I’m as ready as the little red rooster and I’m going nowhere in particular

Just Wishin’ and Hopin-------’Thinkin’ Prayin’

Meeting up with no one was ok with me

I was on my own, I was always on my own

Just a lonely boy

In a pair of catalogue black patent leather winkle pickers

Walking endlessly in the rain towards the roads that were lined by trees

Each step summoned a missing piece of a vanished promise

Where or what all this meant to me was a mystery

I was a mystery boy with a black button-down shirt and a turquoise tie

I was shining like a star

Each puddle mirrored a silent confession, the world was soaked in hush

Beneath the orange neon lights I half-believed in unexpected encounters

In the distance the Iron Foundry’s glowing heart had an audible beat

I heard the echo of a bicycle bell, the wet rush of passing cars

The small town moves on apace even when longing holds you still

The wind was colder clouds scurried in the midnight grey sky

Leaves were clinging to their secrets in the road of trees

Puddles painted constellations at my feet, somewhere a radio played

Roy Orbison was singing  ‘Only the Loney’ into the empty night

Lonesomeness is nothing more than a cold wind and shimmering rain

Especially for a lonely boy in a turquoise tie

I reached the roads lined in trees

It was a long walk home in the rain

On balance it had been a Hard Day’s Night

Longing fell from me that night,  like the soft rain on my borrowed donkey jacket.