Whacker Humphries - Christy Moore

One day as I was walking past the bridge in Dolphin’s Barn

By the old canal I saw some children round a car

In the back they were shooting up smack

I had a bird’s eye view

When I called for help

Told me there’s nothing we can do

Both sides of the river clearly to be seen

Down along O’Connell Street and up to Stephen’s Green

Heroin sold openly there was no need to hide

The drug squad were outnumbered

It seemed like their hands were tied

John Whacker Humphries is a family man

Him and his wife, they give their children everything they can

Faced with the scourge of heroin, they’d not accept defeat

They joined concerned parents

To put the dealers off the street

They marched on dealers houses and ordered them to quit

Time and time again they warned, we’ve had enough of it

Dirty needles in our doorways

Junkies hanging all about

Keep on dealing heroin and you’re going to be moved out

From St. Theresa’s gardens to the flats in Ballymun

Concerned parents action had the dealers on the run

They swore they’d stand together until the drugs were stopped

Can anybody tell me why they got their knuckles rapped?

They were rounded up and charged

With crimes against the state

Brought before the Green Street court to decide their fate

Denied a trial by jury and there was no bail

The concerned parents were taken off to jail

Sitting in the gallery among family, friends and wives

I strained to hear who told the truth and who was telling lies

Dealers, junkies and police on the prosecution side

I swear to God that’s what I saw before my very eyes

Whacker Humphries took the dealers on

And he fought them tooth and nail

A squad of well armed soldiers brought him to the portlaoise jail

He tried to protect his children, found guilty of a crime

One man gets a pension, another man gets time

This morning I went walking out by Dolphin’s Barn

I heard a small bird whisper, mind you don’t come to any harm