Candy Cigarettes

At nine years old You crossed the ocean Far from home Your family opened The five-and-ten that I'd ride past every day Just a little shit With my baseball cards Candy cigarettes In my coat pocket In those days we were a bit too shy to play But that was bound to change Fix the chain on your bike Help you keep your grades up Sneaking out on warm nights Lying to the grownups Making fools of ourselves Out there on the dance floor That's what friends are for That and so much more Ten years on After a summer shower I saw you out front Arranging the flowers I knew right then that I'd marry you someday St. Anthony Helped me find my umbrella On our wedding day Everybody took shelter They said it's good luck, and we said our vows in the rain And those have never changed Money in the sock drawer To find a place of our own Dreaming of a front lawn Somewhere off of Blackstone Pleading with the landlord Changed the locks on our door That's what young love's for That and so much more In '81 Your ma lost her brother You worried for cousins You left back in Ulster We didn't have much, just a bit for a rainy day So we flew the boys To a strange, new place Bunkbeds in a small room in the USA Sometimes we were hungry But they'd never starve in The Maze Our lives forever changed Fix the chains on their bikes Help them keep their grades up They sneak out on warm nights Just like when we were young They look just like you And I can't help but love them That's what family's for That and so much more You open up your door That's what family's for At nine years old You crossed the ocean