I was sitting out the back one idle Sunday
Watching all the junkies as they slowly drifted by
The rain was coming down on this faded little town
As I poured myself another dirty pint

The landlord he came by for me this morning
He came for all the money that he said I hadn't paid
I grabbed him by the throat and cursed his name until he broke
He sure as hell won't come round here again

Mother don't you cry
I'll be home before the night
Can leave me lying face down in the drain

Then I went spilling out onto the pavement
Talking to the shadows that still slept beside the wall
Said that I had fought as a soldier in the war
But that I'd thrown my medals all away

Maybe I was dreaming when I saw my brothers die
Maybe I was high on poppy seed
But anyhow their blood it seems to linger in the mind
It wakes me up I can't get back to sleep

Mother don't you cry
I'll be home before the night
Can leave me lying face down in the drain

My father he is out and looking for me
He was drinking with the gypsies in a pub just down the road
See these crooked scars that he left all down my arm
With a belt when I didn't make it home

Now the boys and I are going heavy
If you've any sense then you'd leave us well alone
Screaming at the sky, looking wild in the eye
As the whiskey tears the flesh all from our bones

Mother don't you cry
I'll be home before the night
Can leave me lying face down in the drain

Mother please don't cry
They found me just the other night
Bleeding out into the drain