Eddie Walker

Won’t you smile you look so shocked Put the nametag on your smock We’ve come to see you, Eddie walker

I don't know whether anyone reading this has had, or is having, that feeling where everything begins to come together. Not physically - my life is as much of a mess as it has been, and I'm sure that will become a perennial thing. But philosophically, my view on the world is beginning to condense a little. The aphorisms that hit me on the bus seem less trite. The moral decisions I make seem less emotionally-based. The way I live my life is more and more in tune with the way I believe it should be lived. Maybe that's just a sign of me giving in to the rest of the world (and Lord knows that's the last thing I want to do). I like to think of it as a sign that maybe I'm doing the right thing in my endless musing and contemplation. Maybe it's a sign that the journey has a purpose, an end point that Aristotle so firmly believed in. Maybe. I'm not that far along the road yet.

This one’s you when you were small You’re learning how to walk They’d pick you up And you keep falling down

Am I going to let rip, then? Am I going to unleash upon you the result of eighteen month's worth of contemplation, angst, distress and enjoyment? No. And it's not because I want to keep you all in suspense. It's not because I'm trying to make a cult following of myself. It's simply because I think that the journey is as important whatever conclusions are made. Hell, you might even make different conclusions to me, and that would make the journey even more important.

There you are with aunt louise You’re bouncing on her knees Remember all those trees behind the garden? They're gone, they all got cut down When she died

I had a reason for writing this when I began, but it's sort of drifted away. The lyrics to Eddie Walker which adorn this column like so many churchmice are here because they paint a picture of a guy who didn't do anything with his life. He lived a life that he thought was right at the time, but later discovered that it was empty. All the way through, he had rested on what was around him. But now it's all been cut down as things die around him.

Eddie walker, this is your life You never had a son or a wife You sure had a hell of a time Eddie walker, this is your life

It's not a threat. Far from it. Most people will live their lives quite happily without considering what they are doing. In fact, despite the lyrics of the song, Eddie might not know the kind of life he's stumbling into. But living for the moment eventually falls through. It has to, because moments don't last for long. And so though he might feel that this is the way things are meant to be, he’s deceiving himself.

That said, I couldn't say for sure whether I've lived my life any better. But the key thing is - and this is one thing I don't mind sharing with you - that Philosophy has let me work out what makes me content. Not in a hedonistic way, but in a general wellbeing sort of way. No, I don't turn up to a lot of parties. No, I don't try to impress many people any more. But that's okay, because I'm still happy with who I am and the way my life is going. It's still a mess, of course. But I'm getting by, and I think that's a valuable thing.

Eddie walker, this is your life You never had a coat or a tie You never had a reason to cry This whole stack and all of these Are just a mist or overseas We’re gonna leave you Eddie walker