Guts Riley

For his age he has a big stomach he has only just turned thirty eight
And he could lose at least twenty kilos for he looks grossly over weight
At the local pub his is a well known face and there he has a few drinking mates
With whom he talks of football and cricket and of horse racing and sporting greats.

Six years back his wife Libby left him and with her took their five year old Jim
And though he and she never did quarrel she is better off without him
She is now married to a more sensible fellow one who doesn't waste his money on gambling and booze
For one to win a small amount on horses or greyhounds another has to heavily lose.

The fellow known as Guts Riley he spends every cent of his week's pay
On dogs and on booze and on horses one might say he throws his money away
Yet a gentle sort of a fellow drunk or sober he is much the same
He never insults anybody or calls anyone out of name.

In the local pub every evening he is one you are bound to see
His brown hair is visibly greying and there is no mistaking he
The one who is known as Guts Riley he could shed twenty kilos or more
But he still will be drinking and gambling if he lives to one hundred and four.