Albums > Philately Philosophy & Felicity > Lyrics > 10. Philately

In 1840 Rowland Hill found a new way to pay his bills
One morning, over tea and toast, he invented the penny post
By means of an adhesive stamp, now Boy Scouts could write home from camp
The proceeds letting Postman Pat, buy Jellymeat Whiskas for his cat

Very soon after that new dawn, post haste a great new craze was born
For even used stamps could be fun, if one made a collection
Penny black, two penny blue, every day brought something new
Coloured paper backed by gum – sort them out and stick them in an album

It’s an educational occupation, a hobby anybody can share
Philately, philately, will get you everywhere

So knowledge lit a shining lamp, no teacher taught me more than stamps
Every time I took a look, all nations laid out in my book
I was current with each currency, politics and geography
All the flora and the fauna from the round earth’s furthest corners

The world is wide but we can ride and never pay a fare
Philately, philately, will get you everywhere

I’m on my knees I say my prayers, that perforated paper squares
Of colours rare and types obscure will come dropping through my front door
Antiquities may lie in store in some forgotten attic drawer
Where on a faded envelope is a triangular from the Cape of Good Hope

Is it a sweet obsession or a therapy session ? I’m an anorak, I don’t care
Philately, philately will get you everywhere

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