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A song for you this evening |
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and it's not to make you sad |
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Or for adding to the sorrow of a troubled Northern land |
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But lately I've been thinking |
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and it just won't leave my mind |
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I'll tell you now of two good friends |
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They were both good friends of mine |
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Isaac Scott from Derry |
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he lived just across the fields |
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A great man for the music and the dancing and the reels |
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MacDonald came from South Armagh to court young Agnes fair |
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It was then we'd meet on Ryan Road |
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and laughter filled the air |
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Now, Isaac, he was Protestant and Sean was Catholic born |
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But it never made a difference |
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for their friendship it was strong |
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And sometimes in the evening when we heard the sound of drums |
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We said "War won't divide us |
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we will always be as one |
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For the land our fathers plow in |
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the soil it is the same |
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And the places where we say our prayers have just got different names |
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We talked about our friends who'd died |
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we hoped there'd be no more |
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It was little then we realized the tragedy in store |
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There were roses, roses, there were roses |
| [02:08.221] |
And the tears of the people ran together |
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It was on a Sunday morning when the awful news came around |
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There'd been another killing outside of Caplan town |
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We knew that Isaac danced up there, we knew he liked the band |
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We heard that he was dead, and we just could not understand |
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We gathered at his graveside on a cold and rainy day |
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The minister just closed his eyes, and for no revenge he prayed |
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And those of us who knew him from along the Ryan Road |
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Just bowed our heads and said a prayer for the resting of his soul |
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There were roses, roses, there were roses |
| [03:23.210] |
And the tears of the people ran together |
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Now fear it filled the countryside, and fear filled every home |
| [03:51.922] |
And late one night |
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a car came prowling round the Ryan Road |
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A Catholic would be killed tonight to even up the score |
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Oh Christ, it's young MacDonald that they've taken from the door |
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"Isaac was my friend!" he cried |
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he begged them with his fear |
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But centuries of hatred have ears that cannot hear |
| [04:25.040] |
"An eye for an eye" was all that filled their minds |
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And another eye for another eye |
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til everyone is blind |
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There were roses, roses, there were roses |
| [04:48.422] |
And the tears of the people ran together |
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Now I don't know where the moral is |
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or how this song should end |
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But I wonder just how many wars are fought between good friends |
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And the men who give the orders, well |
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they're not the ones who die |
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It's Scott and MacDonald and the likes of you and I |
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There were roses, roses, there were roses |
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And the tears of the people ran together |