'Twas Joey the Weasel that gave us the wire 
They were closing our factory down 
Though we didn't believe him and we called him a liar 
The redundancy letters came round 
As we read them in silence, I choked back a tear 
It was hard to believe after twenty-odd years 
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates 
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic 
Oh, We gave them our best years
Now they've paid us back 
By making us yesterday's men 
Sure as hell By making us yesterday's men 
So we said our goodbyes by the factory gates 
One cold Friday evening last year 
And I saw it all there in the eyes of ma mates 
The anger, the sadness, the fear 
Like our fathers before us we worked there with pride 
Now we fought back the bitterness burning inside 
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates 
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic 
Oh, We gave them our best years
Now they've paid us back 
By making us yesterday's men 
Sure as hell By making us yesterday's men 
Ah, now Jimmy, said she, 
Give the kids a few bob, 
After all, sure it is Friday night 
But how could I tell her I was out of a job 
From now on things were going to be tight 
How well I remember it cut like a knife 
I was never a day on the dole in my life 
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates 
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic 
Oh, We gave them our best years
Now they've paid us back 
By making us yesterday's men 
Sure as hell By making us yesterday's men 
The machines now are silent, the workbenches bare 
And there's dust on the factory floor 
They've boarded the windows and have chained up the gates 
And have padlocked the factory door 
Now I'm on the scrap-heap, and I'm thirty-nine 
Just one of the hundreds, shot down in my prime 
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates 
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic 
Oh, We gave them our best years
Now they've paid us back 
By making us yesterday's men 
Sure as hell By making us yesterday's men 
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates 
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic 
Oh, We gave them our best years
Now they've paid us back 
By making us yesterday's men 
Sure as hell By making us yesterday's men