Butchering Day

Leanne's climbing on the side of the fence Staring at the steer that doesn't know what's coming next And the bolt in old Trevor's hand is a bit of a give away Sandra's standing on the cattle-grate Waving her black poly pipe around like a lightsabre Helping her dad herd the cows on butchering day You can see the whites in their eyes Everybody's closing their mouths from the flies We all get blood on our hands Filling up the freezer bags Dog's scratching at the side of the fence Hungry for the scraps to be fed to them All the kids - younger than ten Trev doesn't raise vegetarians He hangs the beast from a hook in the roof Takes his best knife and he digs deep into its chest Like a gruesome piñata Leanne watches guts rain on the boots of her father And blood pools into oil stains On the garage floor on butchering day 'Get out ya mongrel' He kicks at the dog Lapping at the pool at his feet Sandra's bored of the bloody mess She goes out the front to practise somersaults With an eye still on that scene Safely bouncing on the trampoline And mum hits the dog with the broom Everybody knows there's just one job to do Keep out of Trevor's way On butchering day Bathroom looks like a Hitchcock flick And mum's best towels have been in better nick And the beer in old Trevor's hand is a bit of a give away Leanne's staring at his fingernails Black crescent moons on a cracked lunar scape And she knows better than most when it's time to give him space Mum serves the mash and the chops Creeping 'round the kitchen in her slippers and socks And he eats 'til he's had his fill On the remnants of last year's kill You can see the whites in their eyes Everybody's closing their mouths from the flies We've got nothing to say On butchering day We've got nothing to say On butchering day We've got nothing to say On butchering day