'Fruit Of A Wicked Plant'
Written By Ruairidh Anderson
Inspired By The Life Of Horatio Bottomley
The bustle of the tumbling years, full of promise and aching fears,
Can raise a man up or set him low, form a heart that's pure or a belly of stone.
Raised in a faceless crowd half devil, half child,
His turbid words and his cloudy speech were as sweet as sugar on rotten teeth.
He'd sing,
"Here folk crowd around,
High-rollers to the down and out,
I've seen hills of gold I tell you true,
Cross my palm and you'll taste gold too."
Rolling dice and drinking wine,smoking cigars and flying high,
He never gave a thought to his deeds of shame, never cast a glance at the spreading stain.
Living free of evil done, greed grows beneath the sun,
It bore the fruit of a wicked plant and left him cold when his days were done.
He'd sing,
"Here folk crowd around,
White-collared to the beaten-browed,
I've seen stones that sparkle, gems that gleam
Cross my palm and you'll taste those dreams"
|
