PADDY JOE
Price: €600

Size: 25” x 21”

Paddy Joe was a millionaire,

‘cause Paddy Joe always said no.

No I’ll not buy that says he,

I’ll wait awhile and save me money.

Sure I really don’t need any.

He had his confirmation money,

hid down the back of a drawer,

but when his old bed collapsed,

he just laid down on the floor.

Sure who needs a bed.

He wore the same old clothes,

morning, noon and night,

and went off to Mass on Sunday,

covered in dirt and s*@^*.

Sure won’t they do rightly.

Paddy Joe nursed a wee cough,

all through the long winter,

and even with blood on his pillow,

he still wouldn’t call to the doctor.

Sure them boys’d fleece ya.

One morning the cattle were bawling

for milking, the neighbours found

poor Paddy Joe in the kitchen,

dead in the middle of his derelection.

Sure we’ll say the rosary, boys.

Paddy Joe left a fortune behind him,

under the floor and hidden in tins,

and after the bill was paid for his waking,

the State had the rest for the taking.

Sure he must be spinning round the grave.

So spend for today, not tomorrow,

treat every day like a rainy day,

hoarding and meaness can only bring sorrow,

as Paddy Joe found out too late.

Sure you can’t take it with you.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Copyright Roisin Duffy