The Memory of James          Words & Music by Dean Haitani.

You passed away in 1944,
About the same time my daddy bought his first car -
I think he said it was a Ford
& you never did see him grow up & start a family

You left eight children & a wife
& a family that fell to pieces after your life
-when all your children went separate ways

My daddy sheds a tear for you on your birthday
& I know that he misses what god took away
He talks of you so often, I can understand
That you where my grandad & a great man

My daddy grew up quickly & he learnt
How marriage to the wrong woman could get him burnt
He lost his only fortune & his child
To a gold diggin' woman at his family pride

My father married my mother, his second wife
& gave birth to my brother with me not far behind
My brother is married & has his own life
& I play in front of you tonight

You passed away in 1944,
but you did not die 'cause of what you taught
& I feel it's been passed onto me
& who you are-my family

The memory of James the grandad I did not know
I never met you- you died before the war
But you still live on in all of us 'cause all of us are you