There's No Indispensible Man

On Springthyme SPRCD 1030
Jim Reid & John Huband - Freewheeling Now

When Jim's uncle John Driscoll, who originally came from Cork, died he left behind a bundle of poems he had written. Jim liked this one and wrote a tune to it. Jim later learned that the American singer Jim Reeves had the same poem framed and hanging in his house. Says Jim, "My uncle surely didn't write this one - or else he was more famous than I realised!"

1: Sometimes when you're feeling important,
Sometimes when your ego's in bloom,
Sometimes when you take it for granted,
You’re the most qualified in the room.

2: Sometimes when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions,
And see how it humbles your soul.

3: Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hands in it up to the wrist,
Pull them out and the hole that remains there,
Is the measure of how you’ll be missed.

4: You may splash all about when you enter,
You may stir up the water below,
But stop and you’ll find in a minute,
That it looks just the same as before.

5: Now the moral of this is quite simple,
Do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There’s no indispensable man.
Poem set to music by Jim Reid
c p 1990 Springthyme Music