For fourteen years I was the youngest till Kevin came along. This was written to mark his birthday.
The Life of Kevin (He is not the Messiah)
I recall well nineteen seventy-nine
Thatcher is on the rise
Back then it seemed a simpler time
Village People dancing all in a line
Not queer to my young eyes
Forest win the European Cup for Clough
Coe leads in every race
Ali says he has had enough
Seve wins at Lytham from the rough
Borg is the tennis ace
Daisy Duke giving me my teenage kicks
Hottest thing on telly
Life of Brian’s on at the flicks
Eating while Paul Daniels’ doing tricks
Instant whip and jelly
Then like to the Blessed Virgin before
Miracle boy is born
For Mum was forty-eight or more
And Dad sold French Letters by the score
To earn his daily corn
The bairn now was favourite for Mother
They said before his date
Tholing one annoying brother
I did not want or need another
More like twelve years too late
As stand-in nanny, I grew to love him
Mistaken for his Dad
I blame myself he keeps so thin
Times I skewered him with the nappy pin
He’s turned out not so bad
From Fife to Edinburgh, we’d hit the town
I would jump at the chance
Pints in Finnegan’s guzzled down
We jigged the floor like a pair of clowns
A muppet’s river-dance
No new Messiah but now I see him
As a gift from heaven
His loyalty through thick and thin
His core of goodness from deep within
Let’s raise a glass to Kevin
What a great tribute.
Loved the descrition, of the late seventies, I was an unwanted youngest who arrived late, a lot less than 14 years but never the less the gap between me and my siblings felt large, by the time I was 13 they'd both left home and I felt bereft. He was a lucky boy to have someone so invested in him.
Raise a glass to all older siblings, who can do nothing wrong in the eyes of the "baby" of the family.
Good read.
what a good memory of 1979. i have a brother 14years younger than me, but i left home when he was three. the terrible twos and i'd had enough! once he was passed puberty we got ( and still do get) on very well. A nice tribute to your brother and a good read