A song about one of the UK’s 200,000-ish Young Carers. This little fella’s Dad has gone AWOL and his mother’s gone off the rails. What makes the situation worse is that he looks a lot like his old man, so the harder our boy tries to be there for his mum, and keep house and home together, the worse it gets for both of them. Track 11, Mother’s Ruin, gives you the mum’s perspective.
lyrics
Lidl Briton
No I never left home young,
Seems more like home left me.
Took a dad I never knew,
Left me and mum with not much glue to hold us tight.
She took to bed, the bills built up.
I pawned the telly, the washer, even the rabbit hutch.
I washed our clothes in the kitchen sink,
Still them at school say I stink.
At just 12 years old, life’s a soiled and heavy load.
And when she gets the demons in her head
And disappears for days I leave some dry toast by her bed,
To soak up the longing, to prove I’m still here.
Oh I know those demons come and go
And when she says she hates me I can make believe that it’s not so.
I’ll never fight with her though,
I’ve still got some glue, if she’d only come and hold me tight.
The council sent some men again.
I told the mother not to let them in.
I wear my clothes until they dry.
No one can say that I don’t try.
At just 12 years old, I feel tired, alone and cold.
And when she gets the demons in her head
And disappears for days I leave some dry toast by her bed,
To soak up the longing, to prove I’m still here.
Oh I know those demons come and go
And when she says she hates me I can make believe that it’s not so.
I’ll never fight with her though,
I’ve still got some glue, if she’d only come and hold me tight.
