Twelfth of July

I remember skimming stones

Pavement chairs and ice cream cones

Standing on the corner

Looking over my grandmother's hedge

I remember waving a flag

Holding on tight to my lucky bag

Spreading whatever I got on the window ledge

I could never understand

What we did and why

Hey baby, it's the 12th of July

Hey honey, it's the 12th of July

How can I explain the other side of the sky?

The other side of the sky

I remember looking down tired

On the marching bands

I was feeling so small

Running to the corner shop

With the change in my hand

There was drummers drumming

Everybody coming

Flags waving

Crazy paving

And every note they played

Had a violence I couldn't understand

I remember what they did

But I never worked out why

Hey baby, it's the 12th of July

Hey honey, it's the 12th of July

How can I explain the other side of the sky?

The other side of the sky

Now I thought this evening

When it looked like you were leaving

The TV was on

It was the marching season

You asked me what it was like

Growing up a young man in that place

I didn't know what to say

Well, tonight's the night

We're gonna go out tonight

Put your best shoes on

Pull your collar up tight

'Cause if you don't, you will only break my heart

The distant past has all gone wrong

We lost it all for the lack of a song

And me, I can only make a start

I remember what we did

But I never worked out why

I could never understand

What we did and why

Hey baby, it's the 12th of July

Hey sugar, it's the 12th of July

I'm trying to explain the other side of the sky

The other side of the sky