Portobello Terrace standing empty
Battened, with corrugated iron
Broken bottles in the basement
Even the stinging nettles die
Unfit for human habitation
Daylight showing through the roofs
Waiting for council renovation
Years since tenants were removed

Can't rent a room for love nor money
Council waiting list was 7 years
Rather than cardboard on a pavement
One dark night we broke in here
A week of work was all it needed
To fit in doors and fill the frames
We patched the damp and fixed the windows
Settled in to stake our claim

We woke up one Sunday morning
Bailiffs breaking down the doors
Council clerks, police and news men
Watching the squatters face the law
They threw our bedding out the windows
Hurled our clothes across the floor
The place was gutted top to bottom
And barricaded up once more

Portobello Terrace standing empty
Battened with corrugated iron
Broken bottles in the basement
Mattresses and chicken wire alight
Unfit for human habitation
Only one house has a roof
Waiting for council demolition
Years since squatters were removed