| 'Twas Joey the weasel that gave us the wire |
| They were closing our factory down |
| Though we didn’t believe him and we called him a liar |
| The redundancy letters came round |
| As we read them in silence, I choked back a tear |
| It was hard to believe after twenty-odd years |
| Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates |
| Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic |
| Oh, We gave them our best years now they’ve paid us back |
| By making us yesterday’s men |
| Sure as hell |
| By making us yesterday’s men |
| So We said our goodbyes by the factory gates |
| One cold Friday evening last year |
| And I saw it all there in the eyes of ma mates |
| The anger, the sadness, the fear |
| Like our fathers before us we worked there with pride |
| Now we fought back the bitterness burning inside |
| Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates |
| Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic |
| Oh we gave them our best years now they’ve paid us back |
| By making us yesterday’s men |
| Sure as hell |
| By making us yesterday’s men |
| Ah Now Jimmy, said she |
| Give the kids a few bob |
| After all, sure it is Friday night |
| But How could I tell her I was out of a job |
| From now on things were going to be tight |
| How well I remember it cut like a knife |
| I was never a day on the dole in my life |
| Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates |
| Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic |
| Oh, We gave them our best years now they’ve paid us back |
| By making us yesterday’s men |
| Sure as hell |
| By making us yesterday’s men |
| The machines now are silent, the workbenches bare |
| And there’s dust on the factory floor |
| They’ve boarded the windows and have chained up the gates |
| And have padlocked the factory door |
| Now I’m on the scrap-heap, and I’m thirty-nine |
| Just one of the hundreds, shot down in my prime |
| Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates |
| Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic |
| Oh, We gave them our best years now they’ve paid us back |
| By making us yesterday’s men |
| Sure as hell |
| By making us yesterday’s men |
| Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates |
| Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic |
| Oh, We gave them our best years now they’ve paid us back |
| By making us yesterday’s men |
| Sure as hell |
| By making us yesterday’s men |