When Dad brings home the first week’s wage
Mam is delighted
When Dad’s job goes into the third week
He does not bring home wages
Everything has an opposite
Mam is cheerful
She sings
Mam lies in bed
With her face to the wall
Everything has an opposite
I’m in a playground on Classon Avenue
In Brooklyn with my brother
The ship pulled away from the dock
You’re bound to have the cough
When you live in Limerick
Everything has an opposite
A miserable childhood
Pompous priests
Bullying schoolmasters
I’m on the deck the dawn we sail to New York
I’m sure I’m in a film
No one has a care in the world
Everything has an opposite