© Andy Bassett (APRA)
In 1974 Joe and Jake, two boys from Belfast, stayed for a week with Andy in Cumbria. Joe was Protestant, Jake was Catholic. This is their story.
Joey met Jake in the north-west of England
In the spring of '74
Though they'd lived all their lives in the city of Belfast
They'd not known each other before
For Joey was Orange and Jake he was Green
Just old enough to know what that means
And the stories they told at the age of thirteen
Were enough to make my skin crawl
The sound of the gunfire would crackle around him
As Joe tried to sleep through the night
He'd heard of masked men who would run through your house
As if it were somehow their right
And gangs who would chase you down into an alley
Pin you right up to the wall
Get right in your face
And whisper "What are ya?"
You'd fear for your life and your balls
Jake talked of barricades
Roadblocks and searches
Like something you'd see every day
To me it was all like some mythical world
It couldn't be further away
I couldn't imagine
Snipers in shootouts
Who'd grab a young child in broad day
Make him carry the bullets
Down to the next gunman
And risk getting shot on the way
And the summer of love
Withered and faded away
And a winter of hate
Came to stay
Two decades have past since Joey and Jake
Returned to a city at war
There's a whole lot of talk about truces and ceasefires
But we've all heard these stories before
There's no way of knowing how long it will take
Before we can make sense of history's mistakes
But you'll not see two friends
Like Joey and Jake
In the spring of '74
15 July 1998
Left to Right: Andy, Joe & Jake