A Quaker Town
Added 2024-01-20 09:24:40 +0000 UTCBy popular demand, here's the full version of the song which features in the end credits of every video I post on YouTube.
It's called A Quaker Town, a song I wrote fifteen years ago, and this is the original recording, complete with mistakes, with me singing and playing the guitar in my bedroom. Back then Mossy Bottom and the dream of quitting the rat race was but a fantasy in my sleepless nights.
Here are the lyrics:
Oh I was born in a Quaker town, where folks worked good and hard,
For the ones they loved, and God above, each day they'd punch their card.
And when evening came, back home again, they'd rest a while and say,
"Tis a hard old life, but for kids and wife, we'll work us another day".
When the sun rose low, back to work they'd go, singing on their way,
"Oh for job and home, to call our own, we'll work us another day."
Oh I grew up in a Quaker town, till eighteen years had passed,
Then I packed my bags, and I said farewell, for a better life at last.
And for five years more, I studied hard, and the state paid harder still,
For that better life, I earned my debt, on her education mill.
Till I threw my cap, and they all did clap, and shake my hand and say,
"Well done my son, now work's begun, you'll pay that debt one day".
Oh I came home to a Quaker town, where folks drank good and hard,
To sign my name, and feel the shame, of dole and disregard.
In my parents' home, each day alone, as a man of twenty-three,
I'd ply my trade, as a beggar made, armed with a fine CV.
Until at last, with a year long passed, I was offered me a job,
With a phone for a pick, I took it quick, and joined the dismal mob.
Oh I live now in a Quaker town, where I rent myself a room,
From a poor old man, with a deep sun tan, born in a post-war boom.
He looks at me, in his Jag Type-E, then he shakes his head to say,
"Buck up you lad, don't act so sad, it was harder in my day."
"When but sixteen, they worked me clean, to pay for house and wife,
With hands and wit, not chair to sit, I made myself this life."
Oh I'll grow old in a Quaker town, where folks work fat and marred,
For the debts they earned, and the skills they learned, each day they'll swipe their card,
And when night time comes, in their first world slums, they'll drink a while and say,
"Tis an easy life, but for kids and wife, no man should live this way."
When the sun sits high, back to work they'll drive, daring then to pray,
"Oh what I'd give, to work to live... in my own damn house this day."
"Oh what I'd give, to work to live... out those dreams for which I pay."
"Oh what I'd give, to work to live... for a life not pissed away."
Comments
What a fine song! Daniel, you're truly a man of so many talents 😀.
2024-01-20 18:01:11 +0000 UTCThank you so much for posting this, Daniel. I´ve loved the song from the first time I heard it. Especially the last lines bring tears to my eyes! Since my teenage years I have loved writing songs to express my inner world, so I can very much empathise with this very young man you were when you wrote this song. I'm so happy for you that you chose and built a different kind of life for yourself & now even live it together with your Beloved and your daughter. I've never been in the rat race myself: I´ve been self-employed ever since I left University doing something that I love and that feels meaningful & fulfilling to me. But still... this more self-sufficient life that is directly connected to my own land; with animals and growing my own food; chopping my own fire wood - I fell more and more in love with this way of life. I already had this vision as a teenager, but due to various influences - including your videos - this dream has become very vivid and important again in recent years. It is what you say and teach in your videos, but also and most importantly your "seat of being" from which you embody what you speak about that inspires and touches me so deeply. I can't wait to move to Ireland, which has always been my dream. In 4 weeks we will leave Germany for good!!! All the best for you and your loved ones! Iona
2024-01-20 17:43:11 +0000 UTCThank you Daniel. Loved the music and lyrics. Sometimes dreams come true. Keep the videos coming, we look forward to the continuing story.
2024-01-20 15:52:13 +0000 UTCloved it
Renato filippini
2024-01-20 15:46:12 +0000 UTCThank you! I love storytelling songs like that! It's wonderful and I am so glad you shared the full version of it. You definitely have a lovely talent there. In hopes that perhaps one day you will write another song about how you left the rat race behind and how you live your life now, out of it! 🩵
2024-01-20 15:09:56 +0000 UTCHave always loved this. We sing along after every video. Thanks for sharing it. So glad you are doing well in your new environment. Thanks for taking us along for the ride. ❤️
2024-01-20 15:05:04 +0000 UTCThank you for sharing! My wife and I found your YouTube channel this past summer after a pub tour trip to Ireland (from the Chicago area) and falling in love with Ireland and its people…especially western Ireland. We dream of retiring there soon and watched every one of your videos eagerly. We were hooked by your charm and likeability, and absolutely fell in love with Moss. We eagerly await each new video and updates to your stories and adventures. To be honest, yours is the only channel we sit and watch and listen to the end credits…reading the list of donors, seeing the amazing drone images, and listening to the captivating music. Knowing that the song is yours makes it all that much better!! My side job is running a small music studio / jam space…so as lovers of music, we appreciate it even more! Thank you for sharing!
2024-01-20 13:08:17 +0000 UTCDanial, your song hits it out of the park. The truth of being a slave for both the man, and money, to pay for the life the man promises. So happy you escaped. Many do not. This song is joyful and bittersweet. Thank you for sharing it with us.
2024-01-20 12:37:20 +0000 UTCI think the best thing about this is, it feel like you've come full circle, trying to leave the Quaker town but getting pulled back in, thinking that's the end but then we're able to escape to build the life you wanted. The lyrics get pretty heartbreaking toward the end, I reckon the Daniel we have today is a lot happier than the one who wrote them all those years ago.
Sam Spencer
2024-01-20 11:01:15 +0000 UTC
