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In tune

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 I had God all to myself
Just me and him, as I prayed in his silent house,
Kneeling at the back pew, on a cold, dark, winters morn,
Seeking solace and comfort and guidance.
Onto the Cathedral-size walls
The flickering light, from two lone votive candles
Cast silhouettes, as if onto a stage.
And likewise, the twin terrors, of the fears playing on my mind,
Shadow boxed.
Even with the confessional curtains closed
The Punch & Judy show continued unabated
“I’m a bigger worry than you”
“Oh no you’re not”
“Oh yes I am”
“Oh no you’re not”
“Oh yes I am”
“Look behind you!”
And I did, as my reverie was broken
Another character entered the stage, to the sound of musical accompaniment.
I was surprised, a mobile phone, no, personal hi-fi.
The elderly gentleman, hadn’t bothered to turn it off
An unexpected irreverence
But what shocked me
Was the melody
The most sacred tune of my life
Not a psalm or a prayer, but
The One that they played at Stamford Bridge, before every match
And it brought so many memories flooding back
The heroes and villains
Tambling, Bonetti, McCreadie, Chopper
Webb, Dempsey, Baldwin
Hollins, Hudson, Hutchison, Houseman (R.I.P)
Osgood, Cooke, Boyle, Phillips
The towering Micky Droy, next to the diminutive Ian Britton
Wilkins, Butch and Graham, Starsky and Hutch
Finnieston, Langley, Swain, Clive ‘Flasher’ Walker
An old adversary : Peter Rhodes-Brown
The mad foreignor, Petar Borota
Niedzswicki : “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!”
Dixon and Speedie
The truly amazing Pat Nevin
Dave Sexton, John Neal, Gullit, Vialli
The Mears family, Ken Bates, Matthew Harding
So many memories, flooding the brain
And my ears awash with that one tune.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 I exited God’s House, my soul lifted, my troubles diverted
He had moved in a mysterious way, as oft reported
But He’d moved me, with a passion –
He knows me so well

Notes

The tune (a ska classic) :

The Terminator, by Harry J & The Allstars

This poem started last year.
Had to resurrect it after attending a game last weekend, Chelsea v Bolton, 2-2 draw.
So glad to hear that the song is still played before the games (though it’s not the one they run out to).
And delighted to hear the fans have adapted it with a hand clapping rhythm and chant of ‘Chelsea’.

Source: https://footballpoets.org/poems/in-tune/