Noel Stallard

My dad was never one for talk he lived by what he did,
"if you can't do the bloody job, then you're not worth a quid."
He never borrowed from a bank nor spent more than he had.
Had no time for the latest fad, computers drove him mad.
What things we had he earned through sweat by working day and night,
and made sure that we told the truth, owned up when wrong or right.

On only one occasion did my dad give me advice,
it was an evening in the Spring as he sipped coke and ice.
"You've gotta keep on smiling boy, if you're to be a man,
don't let the other fella think, you haven't got a plan.
You know you've got the guts, no matter what the scrap you're in,
You've got to keep on smiling boy, you'll win if you can grin."

Bill Bailey was the bully back in Primary days at school,
and picked on smaller kids like me whom he could ridicule.
So when this bully bailed me up behind the school yard shed,
my thoughts went back to that Spring night and what my dad had said.
"You've gotta keep on smiling boy, if you're to be a man,
don't let the other fella think, you haven't got a plan."

My frantic fists were futile up against his strength and height,
but through his punches, kicks, abuse my smile stayed clear and bright.
And I could see frustration grow across that bully's dial,
despite his unprovoked attack he'd not remove my smile.
And while I copped a hiding from that Bailey knucklehead
I knew I'd scored a victory thanks to what my dad had said.

So Smiley was the nickname kids gave me from that day on,
for on my face I'd wear a smile when I was set upon.
And Boardrooms weren't that different from the school yard brawls we had,
where loyalty and service were dismissed as some old fad.
But when you were a victim of injustice, wronged or cheated,
the smile told your oppressors that no way were you defeated.

For strength is more than cheque book size or forays with the fist,
and those who use just these to win will struggle to exist.
And I learnt in that school yard what my dad had said to me,
that spirit of your inner self is what will set you free
from all sorts of aggression or those conflicts you get in,
"You've got to keep on smiling boy, you'll win if you can grin."