Wretched and half broken
Making our way home
Dawn's light embraces
Thaws the chill out of our bones
This is where we met
Those many years before
Between the Albion and Queens Park
Diesel and folk law

So we stop to catch a breath
Been smoking far too long
Then turn toward the city
As it starts its morning song
Down there was the free state
Where the black top court now lies
You said "I painted houses there
With the sun the moon and skies"

Albion and Phoenix
Reflected in your eyes,
Do we write our names in the dust
Or beat the flames and fly

The brewery was empty
When we drove the vehicles on
The electric was still working
And the phone lines all plugged in
I called family in Australia
I'd never heard before
Got the gas connected
And learned some property law

Albion and Phoenix
Reflected in your eyes,
Do we write our names in the dust
Or beat the flames and fly

Albion and Phoenix
Reflected in your eyes,
Do we write our names in the dust
Or beat the flames and fly

The Beanfield was over
Orgreave's damage done
The polling stations empty
As the new age had begun

We took the copper pipes off
Weighed-in the lead from the roof
The place was called the Phoenix
And that's the honest truth

Now the sun is fast ascending
We turn to walk again
Nostalgia is a calming drug
Its beginning is our end
We'd leave this all behind us
Tall tales told for friends
Were the country not in meltdown
And our hearts all broke again

Albion and Phoenix
Reflected in your eyes,
Do we write our names in the dust
Or beat the flames and fly
Albion and Phoenix
Reflected in your eyes,
Do we write our names in the dust
Or beat the flames and fly