Henry's Songbook

It was early in the morning as he drove me to the airport
The city was awash with sunlight, fresh and bright and new
And as we drove he told me of his hometown and his family
He came here from Greek islands at nineteen in '52
They laughed at him in Findus Street in his telling foreign clothing
Without a word of English he set out to build a dream
And now his health has failed him after thirty years of labouring
But he's proud of the life he built and the Aussie he became

And how many times has he told his tale to strangers
Playing out his life while driving round and round the town
How many times has he had no word of answer
From passengers preoccupied with stories of their own

I didn't notice her until she came and sat beside me
She started conversation in a voice genteel and clear
She used to be a nanny, nursemaid to a wealthy family
She went to them for six months, and she stayed for fifty years
She only left the family home a year ago when Madame died
Now she lives alone and comes to town for company
And the baby that she nursed is now a fifty-year-old bachelor
Who brings her shirts to iron and some sweets and memories

And how many times has she told her tale to strangers
Met by chance on buses or in cafes over tea
How many times has she delighted in exchanges
With people who were friends for those few moments of her day

These are the people of our time no less than those whose names
And faces grace our papers' pages and our T.V. screens
People on whose labour in the shadows we have built our lives
Who get none of the glory and who bear most of the pain

And how many times do they tell their tales to strangers
Who turn away in silence and pretend they didn't hear
How many times do we throw away such chances
Never knowing what we might have learnt with open ear