The Great War is over
Arthur Burscough is back up on his feet
Walked from his factory town with teapot and a vase
To find his fortune by the sea

The Burscough Family Antique shop
"Buy 'em low, sell 'em high"
A roaring trade of ornaments and artefacts revealed
By Mr B's discerning eye

And as, it grew, and Arthur knew
That his children could have it better
And every night Kathleen would turn out the light
While he closed the shutter
Purveyors of fine antiques
Passed down the line since 1923

More than twenty years have passed now
Arthur checks his pocket watch, thinks it’s time to leave
As the bombs explode on street corners
But all that he can hear, is the rattle of the King’s artillery

The streets alive with victory parties
Kathleen wears a widows veil
But the Burscough Family Antique shop
Will always prevail

She worked so hard and played her part
That her children would have it better
And every night with Arthur’s ghost by her side
She'd turn out the light
Purveyors of fine antiques
Passed down the line since 1923

It’s Edward’s 18th birthday
Kathleen hands him the key
But he’s a poet and a dreamer at heart
And doesn’t give a damn about antiques

But he'd pour his cup of coffee in the morning
Walk down the stairs in a daze
Slowly rocking his dreams to sleep
With his old familiar ways

Cause he loved his mum and dad
And he gave it what he had
But in the silence he was far away from home
And every night
He'd read by candle light
Sat up in his bedroom all alone
Purveyors of fine antiques
Passed down the line since 1923

Edwards older brother Harry
Never came back from the war
But he had a son with a sad eyed girl from Rome
And this morning he showed up at the door

Down the local 3rd March, 72
Francesco downs another beer
Whilst Edward asks him seemingly endless searching questions
About growing up in Rome and how he got here

Then one summer night
Edward boarded an international flight
And was never seen again
So Fran took a stand
Raised a pint glass in his hand
Said “I’m the captain, and I’ll sail this ship to land!”
Purveyors of fine antiques
Passed down the line since 1923

Another ten years drift past
Francesco’s drinking is getting out of hand
But his wife Julie is on the ball
The antiques trade is something she can understand

She counts the takings, but they're gone within a week
As Fran drinks his senses dull
And Julie sinks her heart far and further down
‘Til he finally leaves the family home, with a working girl from Hull

And she tried to keep up
But the economy was f**ked
And she barely kept her head above water
But every night with a glint in her eye
She'd sing as she closed the shutter
Purveyors of fine antiques
Passed down the line since 1923

Now Julie’s with a man named David
She's finally loved for who she is
1999 they're married in the spring
And his son from his first marriage is standing up to sing

Jason’s unemployed but he wants to be a star
He’s been an extra on The Bill
He nearly was Neil Diamond on Stars In Their Eyes
But today he’s singing Solsbury Hill

And his daughter Faye
Is turning five on Sunday
And he’s hoping to get to see her
He’ll take her to the shop
So she can play with all the clocks
And sit amongst the dolls and the silver
Purveyors of fine antiques
Passed down the line since 1923

An engine left running
Francesco curses blindly, pounding on the glass
He’s heard that Julie’s remarried
Says he’s back to claim his birthright, before his chance has passed

Julie cowers behind the till
Fran barges through the wooden door
And gentle David calmly steps between the two
Then a punch comes like a freight train and he’s passed out out on the floor

The ambulance journey seems to last for hours
They say he’s fallen badly, the shock has stopped his heart
The paramedic squeezing Julie’s hand
Whilst his colleague gives another round of CPR

Three days later, they turn off the machine
There’s nothing they can do, Julie cries in the canteen
The police catch up with Fran on the coastal road it seems
Drunken, blood stained and passed out at the wheel

And sat up in bed
Kathleen tilts her head
As the nurse reads out Julie’s latest letter
She turns away
Wipes a tear from her face
And she prays things will change for the better

Jason’s taken on the shop now
He’s made a website and a promo video
He’s selling souvenirs and e-cigs
To pay the second mortgage when he’s not in any shows

He wants to pass it over to his daughter
But she’s living up in Leeds
Writing about the rise and fall of coastal towns
In the first year of her PhD

In the back room of the shop
He looked for Arthur’s pocket watch
To take onto The Antique’s Roadshow
And he brought it there
And they said that it was rare
But the clip was never aired....
Purveyors of fine antiques
Passed down the line since 1923