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I Blame The Wife

joe reid

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2003

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 I never dreamt when I met my wife of the things she’d lead me to
No, I don’t mean sex or garden shacks, or trips to Katmundu
I’m talking here about Highbury, where the home of Arsenal calls
Where the names of Wenger and Bertie Mee echo in the Marble Halls

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Her dad was raised in Islington, or it may have been Finsbury Park
At any rate, he could find his way to the football ground in the dark
He soon had me alongside, whiskey added to the coffee flask
And although it was a long ride, I quickly warmed to the task

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 From him I learned of Chapman, of Cliff Bastin, and Alex James
The Compton brothers and many others were added to those names
Thanks to him, I saw players, from other teams as well
Players whose names were said in prayers, and weaved a magic spell

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 I saw the mighty Puskas play, Di Stefano, and Gento
Men of class who could send a pass straight from toe to toe
At Highbury I watched ‘The Matchstick Man’, with legs like spindly pins
When defenders thought him an easy touch, he punished them for their sins

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 Joe Baker was an English Scot, who brought fans through the gates
Five foot seven but hard as rock; he once downed big Ron Yeats
Georgie Best, what a joy to see, frightened us once or twice
But that was before wee Bertie Mee took us to Paradise

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 Geordie Armstrong, quick as a gun, MacNab, and Graham, ‘The Stroller’
In nineteen-seventy, seventy-one, they were part of a fast steam roller
Peter Simpson, Charlie George, MacLintock led them all
Like soldiers led to battle, they responded to his call

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 Ray Kennedy was there, he was young and raw, but my, his touch was sweet
And Wilson, the bravest goalie I ever saw, when diving at people’s feet
Eddie Kelly was part of that immortal band, and the slim and fast Pat Rice
Peter Storey would smile and offered his hand, but opponents didn’t think him nice

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 There were many years after seventy-two, when we couldn’t follow our team
Life brought changes, quite a few, and it wasn’t all a dream
My wife has a lot to answer for, but I’m with her, stand or fall
She led me to follow the Arsenal, the greatest team of all

Notes

What can I add? We’re both still hooked, though she’s never read a poem.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/i-blame-the-wife/