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​No Fixed Abode Lyrics By Alec Latimer

​I was born in a trailer at the side of the road
 Current address no fixed abode
 Determined to carry out my life’s ambition 
To continue the proud Irish traveller tradition
 My grandfather spent his life, working the tin
 Before plastic came along and ruined him
 My mother reared 12 kids and two of them died
 Buried up in the graveyard at my fathers side
 Don’t look down on me because I’m on the road
 Current address, no fixed abode
               Chorus
 Give me a halting site for a few nights
 Toilets and clean water it’s a human right
 I’ll stay for a while, any traveller would
 But moving on is in my blood
 In a few weeks time I’ll hit the road
 Current address, no fixed abode

 You choose a house, I choose a mobile home
 You choose to stay, and I choose to roam
 Send me to school and I’ll equal any man
 Give me work and I’ll prove that I can
 I don’t pay taxes and I don’t pay rent
 Just like the settled lads, some of us are bent
 A bit of inter-clan rivalry, and we’re hard to catch
 But not like the street fighting after any soccer match
 We’ve got our own language and our own code
 Knights of the road, no fixed abode.


Give me a halting site for a few nights
 Toilets and clean water it’s a human right
 I’ll stay for a while, any traveller would
 But moving on is in my blood
 In a few weeks time I’ll hit the road
 Current address, no fixed abode

             .Bridge
 Give us a halting site with clean water and sanitation
 We’re all human beings, it should fill you with rage
 That half of us die when we reach middle age
 You complain of your coughs and sneezes
 But we die young from third world diseases

 Dealing, stealing and horse-trading 
That sort of life is fast fading
 That’s what settled folk think we do
 Listen to me now, and I’ll assure you
 There’s good and bad in all cultures
 Some are doves and some are vultures
 What’s the truth, it’s not clear to be seen
 Most of us, are somewhere in between
 With a wagon load and no postcode
 Kings of the road, no fixed abode.
      Repeat Chorus
Other songs on the site written by Alec Latimer include Please Fill Up My Paper Cup and  The face behind the window
Many more songs about the travelling people are on the site including The Travelling People by Ewan McColl which was
covered in Ireland by The Dubliners with singer Luke Kelly on vocals .
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