Sideman

Sideman

A genius upon guitar,
An unassuming superstar,
His youthful vocal reaching far ‐
And me, I played the bass.

But we were friends at school, you see,
I made him easy company,
I kept him smart and demon-free ‐
And that became my place.

We formed a band, he wrote the songs,
I slung my bass and tagged-along ‐
And quickly we could do no wrong,
The camera loved his face.

I held the yes-men at arms-length,
I gave him caution, gave him strength ‐
And took my pay, at just one-tenth,
With level-headed grace.

He had self-doubt ‐ I understood,
I told him often he was good ‐
But never great, I never could ‐
I had to keep him chaste.

For my job was to be his ground,
To keep his focus on his sound,
And stop excess from getting round ‐
To give him just a taste.

I paid the bills and cashed the cheques,
I kept a rein on drugs and sex,
And hushed the rumours of his ex,
And slowed his undue haste.

And after seven years of sun,
We split-up for his solo run.
I didn’t mind, my job was done ‐
He hadn’t gone to waste.