Radiate a Smile

A swaggering stick, you carry it quick Attired up and looking fine I'll persevere and wait in line to hear what it is you've seen The tattoo on your chest makes me want one of my own We flew the nest when we were bold enough You know the rest we talked before and said too much Power is reaching a place where no one needs to know I'm empowered I'm alive now, I'll thrive now, that's more than enough Radiate a smile 'cause we're only here for a short while And I don't want to miss a day 'cause I'm missing you Larry is heavy-handed and gets in your space A space invader who's deaf in one ear Scudders is still skulling bags of Galahad Oh, I wish I Galahadn't last night The crowd roars and soars The crowd soars, the engines roar Pyros flash smokes choke they joke He doesn't pay his child support But he never misses an away game Why are you all dressed the same? All the young men are wearing black on black with black trims Speak suicide as a closing remark Then disappear into the darkness and the glow of their own hopes Glories, dashed and redeemed Radiate a smile 'cause we're only here for a short while And I don't wanna miss a day 'cause I'm missing you Radiate a smile if we're only here for a short while Now we don't wanna miss a day 'cause there's so much we must do How can I put this in the best way Mully is a nice man, I don't mean to be reductive But what's wrong with being a nice man Or decent and humble in the way he inspires the young To take their feelings and then weave them into a tapestry of song Louise is slight but carries herself like a giant She walks in the footsteps of Bridget and Ériu writing her own myth And she sees through the bullshit and the little ones look to her as an icon That leads them into the light People rush and push, everybody is rushing And pushing and vying, vying to be heard There's a song that was sung at the battle of Verdun It went like, "Who will really thrive if there is nothing to be won?" Radiate a smile 'cause we're only here for a short while And I don't wanna miss a day 'cause I'm missing you Radiate a smile if we're only here for a short while Now we don't wanna miss a day 'cause there's so much we must do An embrace so tight it asphyxiates the lungs Then a look into my eyes that says I know I've lost I've done my share of bringing beauty into this world And my share of hurting beauty in the process of it all Give me a Ring-A-Ring O'Rosy Here's a locket you chose for me, I chose you There's a belly load of butterflies in this tune Now let's release them, let them play amongst our rhythms and our blues Radiate a smile 'cause we're only here for a short while And I don't wanna miss a day 'cause I'm missing you Radiate a smile for the ones who built the bonfires Of hope and love and laughter when the odds seemed stacked No, we don't want to miss a day 'cause there's so much we must do Radiate a smile for the ones who built the bonfires Of hope and love and laughter when the odds seemed stacked (You see)