Old Jim,he takes the album down
Wipes the dust off with a frown
He cant believe another year
Has come and gone
He slips the vinyl from its sleeve
Being careful not to leave
A thumbprint
Where it does not belong.
He turns on his old pioneer
A relic,of those bygone years
And looks on, as the needle finds the groove
Then he pours himself a Scrumpy Jack
And reaches for his ciggy pack
As that smooth silky vinyl sound
Seeps through.
Jim picks up the record sleeve
And turns it over,to reveal
A rainy winters day in Stephens Green
And three young guys, with stars in their eyes
Rockin n Rollin under leaden skies
In that January scene
In nineteen seventy two
Now forever captured
In Shades of Blue.

Jim remembers that time so well
The sights, the sounds, and that Liffy smell
When he and Sue travelled up from the sticks
To have some fun amongst the city slicks
And he will never forget that fateful night
As they strolled hand in hand,
Under Graftons street lights
Fresh from a picture show,still full of life,
And looking for some action,
Of the musical type
That's when they caught the sound
Of an old blues beat,
Creeping out from a side street
And plucking at the heartstrings,
A lonely guitar
Calling one and all to the Zodiac bar.
In a trancelike state, they were drawn inside
Slow blues were calling,
And there was nowhere to hide
As down the narrow stairway they went
And into that dark and shadowy basement
Sue hanging on tight,for all she was worth
In her platform boots,and denim skirt.
As their eyes grew accustomed,
To the smoke and the dim
They began to move around
And he got some drinks in.
It was then that they first set eyes,
On Phil, and the boys
They were playing in a corner
And making plenty of noise
He made his way up front,with Sue on tow
And he could see that the big man
Was the star of the show
Yes,..the guitarist was inspired
And the drummer was on fire
But for charisma and charm
Phil was the one to admire
And the fans did just that
As they crowded right in
Everyone wanting a piece
Of that would be black king
And Phil just stood there,with that big grin
Yeah man,he was taking it all in
There were rockers,and bikers and posers in suits
Groupies,and snoopies and a few cowboys in boots
All lost in the moment,as Phil laid it on
Yeah,those guys they could do nothing wrong
Everyone was getting up,and going down
But then,thats the way it was.
When the Lizzy boys were in town.
Old Jim remembered Sue having a bit of a laugh
When he went to ask for an autograph,
Well Phil answered the request with a little jest
And duly signed it in his very best

Just then, from inside the cover,
An old polaroid glides
Faded in colour and bent at the sides
Old Jim retrieves it
That snapshot in time
As the music continues
To dip and to climb
On the back of that old picture
That has now started to blister

Best wishes to Jim and Sue
From Phil and the Thin Lizzy boys
January 1972.