Lyrics
My old man wore three piece whistles
My father wore formal suits
He was never home for long
He didn't stay at home for extended periods
Drove a bus for London Transport
He worked as a bus driver for London Transport
He knew where he belonged
He felt a sense of belonging in his job
Number eighteeen down to Euston
He drove bus route number 18 to Euston
Double decker move along
He drove a double-decker bus along his route
Double decker move along
Reinforces his job of driving the bus
My old man
Referring to his father
Later on he drove a Roller
Later he worked as a chauffeur, driving a Rolls-Royce for foreign individuals
Chauffeuring for foreign men
He occasionally dropped his 'H's in speech and used slang ("Cor blimey!")
Dropped his aitches on occasion
He solved crosswords in the London Evening Standard newspaper
Said "Cor blimey!" now and then
At the airport, in rainy weather, he carried out his duties
Did the crossword in the Standard
Reiteration of his presence at the airport
At the airport in the rain
He insisted on being addressed with respect, not by his first name
At the airport in the rain
His personal reasons led to this request
My old man
Reflecting on his father's tendency to argue loudly
Wouldn't ever let his governors
Repetition to emphasize his father's behavior during arguments
Call him 'Billy', he was proud
Repeated statement highlighting his father's behavior during arguments
Personal reasons make a difference
Emphasizing his father's physical appearance
His last boss was allowed
He had a habit of smoking too many cigarettes
Perhaps he had to keep his distance
He lived in a small room in Victoria and kept it orderly
Made a racket when he rowed
He had to undergo a surgical procedure due to an enlarged ulcer
Made a racket when he rowed
Repetition of his health condition
My old man
Reflection on his father's physical appearance
My old man
Reiteration of thoughts about his father
My old man was fairly handsome
Seven years passed quickly without much communication
He smoked too many cigs
They met briefly and intimately
Lived in one room in Victoria
His father passed away before meaningful conversations could occur
He was tidy in his digs
Relationships had just begun to develop
Had to have an operation
Despite distance, they thought about each other
When his ulcer got too big
Ends with a farewell message from the son to his deceased father
When his ulcer got too big
Finalizes the farewell message from the son
My old man
Referring to the father in retrospect
My old man
Repeated reference to the father in retrospect
Seven years went out the window
Reflecting on the passing of time without much interaction
We met as one to one
They met in a one-on-one situation
Died before we'd done much talking
His father's demise halted the development of their relationship
Relations had begun
Relationships between them had just started
All the while we thought about each other
They constantly thought of each other during the limited time they had together
All the best, mate, from your son
A farewell message from the son to his father
All the best, mate, from your son
Reiteration of the farewell message from the son to his father
My old man
Reflecting on his father
My old man
Repetition to end the song with a reflection on his father
Comment