When I was a little kid my family and I lived
with my Grandad.
He lived in an old house with a huge front yard.
He was a nice old fellow but sometimes he was a
little distant.
A little bit moody
You knew to keep your distance.
He would sit in his front yard with his old
transistor blaring.
The Cricket live from England
Or his favourite football team was playing
Sometimes he would listen to his favourite songs
and sometimes he would sing along.
But sometimes he would get nasty and yell and
swear and cuss.
And us kids would run inside
My Grandad liked his Whiskey.
My Grandad had his favourite spot in his
front yard.
He would sit under a bid tree.
I think it was a Wattle.
On one of his bad days he wouldn’t go
near him.
He would just go crazy screaming and
yelling abuse.
My Mother would try to calm him down
but it was no use.
She said that the drinking from the Devils
bottle had thrown a screw loose.
When I was about 13 yrs old I had my first
taste of Beer.
I felt warm and fuzzy
and my face sort of glowed.
My Grandad has been dead for a few years
by now.
But I guess he has passed on his Genes.
I have had my first sip form the Devils bottle.
When I was about 18 I started to hang with a
mate named Allan
He had a girlfriend named Teena who was always
on about his drinking.
We both worked at the same place
But instead of food Allan would have two
long necks of Beer for lunch.
And driving home after work he would have
a couple more.
Even though I liked a Beer Allan drinking left
me for dead.
He would drink three to my one.
He would drink and drive
a long neck between his legs
He would drive like a mad man and once
or twice he dragged off the Cops.
I used to hang on for grim death hoping that
I would get out of that car alive.
Somehow he never crashed and I got to live
another day.
Allan lived his life at full throttle
He really liked that Devils bottle.
Around the same time the Devil tapped me
on the shoulder and said ‘Come with me’
I followed him down a dark path.
A path go’s nowhere.
Nowhere good that is.
He showed me his collection of bottles
And he told me to take my pick.
I reached out my hand
then pulled it back real quick.
Then I reached out again
The temptation was too much.
The Devils bottle tastes so sweet
like the early morning dew
or the nectar from a honey Bee.
Or the Devils bottle can taste like poison
and ruin your whole life.
There is a Devils bottle in every house
It is the bottle you have when you have already
drank too much
The bottle you drink before you drive your car
The bottle you drink before you hit your wife.
The bottle you drink before taking your kids to
school.
So put the bottle back on the shelf
you silly old fool.