Empire Days

He never left the house without his hat
It’s funny how I should remember that
He smoked he drank but didn’t speak
He put his faith in the football pools each week
He was a man of habit
A man of quiet ways
A man like all the children of empire days

He kept his thoughts safe inside his head
Of friends and fallen comrades long since dead
He fought his wars he more than paid the price
On his way to heaven he saw hell twice
He was a man of habit
A man of quiet ways
A man like all the children of empire days

He was my mother’s father
He was my cornerstone
My empire didn’t really fall
Till he left us all alone
He was a man of habit
A man of quiet ways
A man like all the children of empire days

Men like him had eyes that saw too far
So they settled for the view from the end of the bar
They were men whose fathers’ heads were filled
With an empire that we had no right to build
He was a man of habit
A man of quiet ways
A man like all the children of empire days