[Verse 1]
Sixteen years of age,
Sweeping up the site,
Not a trade to my name,
Nothing going right.
You said, “Get to college, lad,
Get your papers too.
Come the start of September,
I’ll come round for you.”
[Verse 2]
The summer drifted by,
I thought you’d let it go,
Just talk on a building site,
How was I to know?
Then seven in the evening,
You were knocking at my door,
With your dad’s Cortina borrowed,
Like you’d promised me before.
[Chorus]
Thank you, Derek,
You kept your word,
The kind of quiet kindness
That’s hardly ever heard.
Fifty years I’ve carried
What I never said,
So thank you, Derek,
I’m singing it instead.
[Verse 3]
You walked me through the doors,
Stood there by my side,
Watched me sign my name
With a little bit of pride.
Then a qualified man,
A business of my own,
And every step I took
Was a road that you had shown.
[Chorus]
[Bridge – softer, stripped back]
Young and careless,
The years rolled on,
Then word came round
That you were gone.
I left it too late,
Like young men do,
Now every September
I think of you.
[Final Verse]
Seventy years old,
The grey’s come through,
These electrician’s hands
Still owe it all to you.
You never knew
What that night would be,
But everything after,
You gave to me.
[Final Chorus]
Thank you, Derek,
You kept your word,
The kind of quiet kindness
That’s hardly ever heard.
Wherever you’ve gone,
Wherever you are,
I’m singing it tonight
On this old guitar.
[Outro]
Thank you, Derek.
Thank you, friend.
Lyrics Michael Forty
Voice Michael Forty