esie32, I don't think this song has anything to do with advocating abortion. The song isn't saying the couple would have been better off without their baby. It actually seems that the daughter is a happy event for them, as evidenced by their happily selling the tv and the father gladly working hard to support his new little family. Also I don't see any indication that the couple are teenagers.
I think what actually drives them apart is the man's drinking:
"She left me when my drinking
Became a proper stinging
The devil came and took me
From bar to street to bookie"
The missus left with the baby when his drinking got so out of hand it was hurting the family.
Anyway I find this song really depressing, because it starts so hopefully and ends with the singer in ruins thanks to his choosing drink over his family. To me, this song is about being your own worst enemy. The guy realises he has ruined their happy life and lost his wife and child, but "Begging's not my business"- he's still too proud to change his habits and beg them to come back, but just the same he knows deep inside what he is missing.
The line about "she'd seen a doctor, and nothing now could stop her" probably means that the narrator had abortion as an initial reaction. Whether or not he brought it up or just realized arguing about it would be futile isn't specified.
The line about "she'd seen a doctor, and nothing now could stop her" probably means that the narrator had abortion as an initial reaction. Whether or not he brought it up or just realized arguing about it would be futile isn't specified.
esie32, I don't think this song has anything to do with advocating abortion. The song isn't saying the couple would have been better off without their baby. It actually seems that the daughter is a happy event for them, as evidenced by their happily selling the tv and the father gladly working hard to support his new little family. Also I don't see any indication that the couple are teenagers.
I think what actually drives them apart is the man's drinking:
"She left me when my drinking Became a proper stinging The devil came and took me From bar to street to bookie"
The missus left with the baby when his drinking got so out of hand it was hurting the family.
Anyway I find this song really depressing, because it starts so hopefully and ends with the singer in ruins thanks to his choosing drink over his family. To me, this song is about being your own worst enemy. The guy realises he has ruined their happy life and lost his wife and child, but "Begging's not my business"- he's still too proud to change his habits and beg them to come back, but just the same he knows deep inside what he is missing.
@isabell428 you’ve nailed it. That’s exactly what the song’s about. “The devil came and took me from bar to street to bookie”. Beautifully sad song.
@isabell428 you’ve nailed it. That’s exactly what the song’s about. “The devil came and took me from bar to street to bookie”. Beautifully sad song.
@isabell428
@isabell428
The line about "she'd seen a doctor, and nothing now could stop her" probably means that the narrator had abortion as an initial reaction. Whether or not he brought it up or just realized arguing about it would be futile isn't specified.
The line about "she'd seen a doctor, and nothing now could stop her" probably means that the narrator had abortion as an initial reaction. Whether or not he brought it up or just realized arguing about it would be futile isn't specified.