Spirit Of The West - Down On The Dole lyrics

The lorries roll through St. John Street And stir up the dust It never seems to settle nowadays There's a young man on the corner Just watch the rigs roll by He doesn't know how to drive And he can't afford to learn And he collects his money every week And turns the other cheek It's not easy, when you're down on the dole His sisters up in Glasgow at the Boarding School She's planning to become a teacher Nick, he dropped out early He never cared too much for school He left to go and labor at the quarry And the crushers are all closed down And there is no work to be found And that's the reason He's down on the dole He's not the only one who's unemployed It seems half his friends these days are out of work And this towns felt their frustration Their anger and their shame It's left them with an emptiness inside Well the dole boys have broken all the rules All the windows in their old high school Well there is always time When you're down on the dole Home life become uneasy It seems all they do is talk of how well Annie is doing up in Glasgow Well his folks are sympathetic But they just don't understand A young man still trying to find his way He dreams of places he has never been Somewhere other than his own back green They are only dreams When you are down on the dole He looks forward to springtime Lend the farmers a hand' Building dykes and mending broken gates They can't afford to pay much But he doesn't mind You see it satisfies him knowing That he's needed Cause there has been no work for so long And soon his spirit will be gone And there's no future When you're down on the dole