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A Terrace Called Leppings Lane

Emsy

Tuesday, September 7th, 2004

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Check the tickets in my wallet,
Then swig my cup of tea,
7.30 in the morning,
One game from Wembley.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Out the door and on the street,
Off to meet the boys,
To sing the songs we love to sing,
When we fill the ground with noise.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 The coach pulls up and we all pile on,
Belly full of butterflies,
Then off to Sheffield we all go,
The FA Cup our prize.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 9.00am and the songs have started,
I talk about the game,
To a young lad that’s sat next to me,
I didn’t catch his name.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 The journeys taking hours,
And we cross the Pennine hills,
But my mind drifts off to Hillsborough,
As I dream of Beardsley’s skills.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 “My favourite players Aldo”
Says the boy sat next to me,
His eyes full of excitement,
And his words are filled with glee.

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 “I’m meeting me mate when I get to the ground”
“He’s travelling up by train”
“I’ll see you back here on the coach”
“When we’ve beaten Forest again”.

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 The coach pulled up and off he went,
Going to meet his friend,
I check my ticket once again,
‘THE LEPPINGS LANE END’.

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 It’s getting near to kick off,
And I’m getting close to the ground,
But nobody seems to be moving,
And I’m stuck tight in this crowd.

10 Leave a comment on verse 10 0 I’m just about starting to panic,
Then a bizzie opens a gate,
A red tide moves down a tunnel,
Moving closer to their fate.

11 Leave a comment on verse 11 0 I remember clearly that tunnel,
And the light that shone at the end,
And as I think back to that fateful day,
I still can’t comprehend.

12 Leave a comment on verse 12 0 That the coppers called us vandals,
And drunken loutish liars,
And the media fed us spite and hate,
When compassion was required.

13 Leave a comment on verse 13 0 But back to that day and the things I saw,
Unfold before my eyes,
The sight of grown men screaming
As the air was filled with cries.

14 Leave a comment on verse 14 0 But I was one of the lucky ones,
Because I came back alive,
I watched heroes in scarves down on the pitch,
Trying helplessly to revive –
Their friends their family and strangers,
Who’d all come to watch a game,
But their lives were crushed that fateful day,
On a terrace called Leppings Lane.

15 Leave a comment on verse 15 0 The memories still haunt me,
Every time I go to sleep,
But there is one memory that gets me,
And always makes me weep.

16 Leave a comment on verse 16 0 Back on the coach with my head on the glass,
I remember my heart skipped a beat,
When I turned to the young lad next to me,
And I noticed his empty seat.

17 Leave a comment on verse 17 0 There were 96 empty seats that day,
96 friends that we’ve lost,
And while Kelvin counted his pennies,
The families counted the cost.

18 Leave a comment on verse 18 0 So next time you are at Anfield,
Visit the eternal flame,
Feel the stone cold marble,
And touch a person’s name.

19 Leave a comment on verse 19 0 And whilst you say a silent prayer,
And your dreams are tossed and blown,
Remember those 96 empty seats,
That must never walk alone.

Notes

The inspiration for this came from hearing a poem called The Justice Bell at a Hillsborough Justice Campaign event. I would urge everybody to check their site at www.contrast.org/hillsborough

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/a-terrace-called-leppings-lane/