Paddy the Butcher by Paul O'Brien

Paddy the Butcher by Paul O'Brien

The Church Road in East Wall is the hub of the neighbourhood, and Paddy the Butcher is the hub of the hub. His Halloween decorations are famous as is his yearly visit by Santa, legendary! His equally famous collection of local photographs that became the basis of an archive of East Wall photographs when we were working on our "North Lotts" project back in 2007. This video is a small tribute to his untiring work for the community. The song and many of his photographs are included in the book and CD "Songs from the North Lotts". Thank you Paddy!

The Butcher

by Paul O'Brien from "Songs from the North Lotts"

I’ll tell you of a butcher
With a shop down in our street
And he’s not one to flaunt
His cuts of sirloin meat
Or show off piles of mince
Chopped up on a tray
Or put a bunch of bangers out
In a pinky meat display

We know a witch who crashes in
Every Halloween
And it’s there that Frankenstein
And monsters can be seen
A
nd sometimes Easter bunnies
Jumping by the score
Blocking up the window
And bouncing ‘round the floor


Topping off the season
That we call good cheer
Santa comes to visit
Every single year
The boys and girls they queue
And promise to behave
And line up for their presents
Down in Santy’s cave

These displays all come and go
To decorate the front
Depending on the time of year
The weather and the month
And sometimes for no reason
He’ll put down a model train
And if he doesn’t like it sure
He takes it up again


But there’s one thing that he has
Always fresh in stock
A smile and chat for anyone
Who comes to take a look
At the tons and tons of pictures
Collected with great care
Safe in big grey folders
Ready to be shared

Every page reads like a book
And Paddy knows the name
Of nearly every person there
And every football game
Memories in the best of hands
And safe for all to see
And if you keep him talking
You might get a cup of tea


But one snap is a puzzle
Paddy’s never figured out
He’s written letters to the press
Made enquiries all about
It’s a picture of a pantomime
In forty-two or three
With a mystery Ali Baba
And a whole big gang of thieves

So if you need a photo
Of your mammy or your gran
Or the team you used to play for
In the days there was a ban
Just pop in to Paddy
You can give your soul a treat
Talk about the good old days
And score a pound of meat