You know I heard the stories told By many people they were young and they were old How England does this world bestride Of how hope and Justice is It’s pride And here I am, and here I go I’m on a long cold lonely road When trains and planes cost so much less And they could carry me without the stress I risked my life I took a boat It had too many people in to float And here I am, and here I go I’m on a long cold lonely road Chorus And if I had a place to stay A certain place to stay and to play Then I wouldn’t move at all You know I wouldn’t move at all And so I took a wagon ride I struggled for place to try and hide Between the wheels, below the frame I clung on through the cold and driving rain And here I am, and here I go I’m on a long cold lonely road In all the world there is one place Where joy and laughter is the face Of those who greet you on the road Of those who come to share your heavy load And here I am, and here I go I’m on a long cold lonely road

As I was walking one day in December I met with a soldier so cold and so grey His uniform sat with his figure like strangers His body week from the toil of the day In his dark eyes I saw a man broken A City of rubble, the buildings all gone And in that moment I saw a vision Of chaos that chilled my soul right to the bone We walked without words for a while to an ale house Where we supped good stew till our plates were wiped clean Then only then did he break his silence To speak of a vision of what might have been We can dwell on the hurt, we can dwell on the insult We can look for the devil within Or we can choose to see what can bind us To find what is beautiful under the skin He said when I was a boy I played the brave soldier I marched as a young man in uniform red With comrades I strode on the cobbles of strange towns Re-living and not-doubting the stories we’d read Yet I have seen that what we have in common Is greater than all that which holds us apart Our lives and our loves, our struggles, our fortune Our music, our laughter the joy in our hearts We can bring this joy right here in our own land Justice and fortune could be equally shared We can nurture the earth and our neighbours together For together our futures are much better prepared We can dwell on the hurt, we can dwell on the insult We can look for the devil within Or we can choose to see what can bind us To find what is beautiful under the skin

Song Lyrics All By The Quay – Kevin McSherry All by the quay In Belfast City I boarded a ship and was on my way I left my home, my wife and my family To cut hay in England and send home my pay Among the pigs, the sheep and the cattle I played a jig and I passed the day The moon did rise over Country and castle As we sailed into Morecambe Bay Chorus: Well it’s not the way that I’d spend my life boys I’d rather be back with my wife and my kin But as long as the rich spend their lives getting richer I’ll always be following the work where its in From Heysham Port to Lancaster City Is a fine old step on a moon lit night But with no warm words to welcome Paddy I slept neath a hedge in the cold starlight On the next days hike on to the hirings I fell in with a giant called Kevin O’Shea He’d taken two weeks to travel from Galway With a fine pair of horses and a gig to trade. I worked all summer for a man named Farrer Me and a fella from the county Tyrone We cut and carried the hay from his meadows And stacked it high dry in his barns of stone And over the meadows the curlews were calling The lapwings tumbled by lambs and by ewes At home these same sounds usher the spring in The same old sounds but a different view. We cut the tall grass in the morning right early Had it turned and shaken out by the bright midday In the evening light before dew was falling We forked it into field cocks for to spread next day And all this while my own land was tended By my sweet Maggie and my children three My Dad, God bless him, will help to bring the oats in The ‘taters we planted will wait for me Always – Kevin McSherry Sometimes in my head sometimes in my room You are with me – Always Sometimes in the car as I drive through the gloom You are with me – Always As I draw back the blinds and watch another day dawn You are with me – Always When all other light has gone in the dark of a storm You are with me – Always There by my side if I’m right, if I’m wrong You are with me – Always My love for you will never be gone You are with me – Always The smile on your lips your welcoming arms You are with me – Always That gentle love that keeps me so warm You are with me – Always I don’t know where this goes I know it’s going somewhere ‘Cos you are with me – Always Wherever it goes I know you’ll be there ‘Cos you are with me – Always Always on my lips always on my mind You are with me – Always A love like ours I never will find. You are with me – Always Bentham Hirings – Kevin McSherry It’s a long days walk to Bentham hirings All on the lanes of the vale of the Lune To pass my time and ease my contentment I took out my whistle and I played me a tune rpt. A summer haze hung over the valley there was barely a breeze disturbing the air when over the fields came the sound of sweet laughter And a north country maiden with bonny brown hair She said young man where are you bound now? And why are you playing your whistle so gay I said I am bound for the Bentham hirings And I play to remember my home far away She said to me, then why do you travel So far from your home and your own country? I said there’s no work, no land and no wages, I have brothers and sisters at home I must feed. Then come with me now to my own dear Father He’s ‘bout for to travel to Bentham today To hire a young man to help with the hay time I’ll say to him now that it’s you he should pay I tell you good sirs and all that do listen here That summer sun was the finest I knew I sent home my love and all my receiving And married that girl in the warm summer dew. repeat 1st verse Binary Decisions – Kevin McSherry I want some binary decisions Something to split me and you I need some binary decisions To divide us in two Some loveless reason Something outrageous will do Yes I need something outrageous I don’t care what I say I’ll say something outrageous And repeat it all day It don’t have to make sense Reason just gets in the way Chorus: Are you in or out now? Are you on my side? Are you with me or not? Cos it’s time to decide I’m not here to reason I’m only here for the ride How I love the media They get paid by the word We’ve all been to the same school We love something absurd They’ll repeat every nonsense Every outrageous word We hate career politicians It’s only me you can trust You know I’m on your side And I’ll kick up a fuss I drink the same drink that you do, I drink it from a pint glass. I am a populist politician And I know what to do We use binary decisions To divide us in two Then we’ll know who’s on our side They’ll hate the same people we do. We want some binary decisions Don’t leave no room for doubt Some divisive reasons Some thing to give it a clout so I can easily say Are you in or out Say my Name – Kevin McSherry My oppressors took away my name. They called me by an unpleasant thing. The bullies only see the difference in me, They treat my brothers and my sisters just the same Without love in their jealous eyes I’m an outsider, an embarrassment, a curse. Without love they cannot see the irreplaceable me That my mother used to cherish and to nurse But I am not one of a type I am me. I have a name and a right to be free I’m entitled to be known by the state and by my own By the name that my mother gave to me. With no name They can pretend that I’m not special. Without respect bullies take their fill. With no name I am easier to torture to deport With no name I am easier to kill. Pikey, Paddy, Packy, Papist, Jock or Jew Asylum Seeker, Refugee are just a few Of the names that people choose to rob and to abuse Those who for no fault of their own don’t look like you But I am not one of a type I am me. I have a name and a right to be free I’m entitled to be known by the state and by my own By the name that my mother gave to me. Every hair on my head has been counted Every hair on my head it has been seen By my maker and she knows me from my head down to my toes And by my name she will call me when life’s closed. Though I share my name with others it is my own. It belongs to us and it belongs to me alone My name speaks out for me before I knock upon your door It holds me there on peoples breath when I have gone Say my name and know that I’m a wonder Say my name and show that I am free Say my name and try to see that through all eternity There will never ever be another me. (repeat) There are names that people choose to rob and to abuse The bullies only see the difference in me But my maker and she knows from my head right to my toes And by my name She will call me when life’s closed Say my name and know that I’m a wonder Say my name and show that I am free Say my name and try to see that through all eternity There will never ever be another me There will never ever be another you or me Sledging on my own – Kevin McSherry Chorus Today as the orange morning light Warmed the winter stone Without a child to guide me I went sledging on my own. Stealing time before breakfast While the sleepy fought off the day I took from the shed my children’s sled The finest I’ve ever made The ghost of my childhood beside me Chapped legs and hat pulled down Pulled his sled on fraying thread To the hilltop’s glistening crown Right there in that crispy silence We raced the slope alone The finest and fastest powder snow That my ancient bones have known We finished white faced and excited Feet flat on the springy mesh fence The most wonderful thing I have done for too long So we did it again and again The Maid of Malham Moor – Kevin McSherry As I walked out on Malham Moor One morning in the month of May I met a maid and fell in beside her For she was walking my way ch She sang so sweet the birds sang too I knew my heart would find no cure In all my life I never met another Like the maid I met on Malham moor She said young man it’s not my custom To walk and talk with passers by But if I do sing and you do play Then this mornings walk will quickly fly The sun was sinking low to the horizon When we came to take our separate way And as we said farewell to one another And vowed we’d meet another day Now our lives have taken us to different place And we never we never met to sing and play again But the joy we shared at that surprising meeting Will stay with me till my life’s end Three Men Came A Walking – Kevin McSherry Three men came a walking one cold winters night. The snow had been falling the stars they were bright They stopped at the place where the path was least worn And sang of the joy of that first Christmas morn Ch. Merry Christmas they sang to the sky and the snow. They sang to the places where long shadows grow They threw back their heads as they sang of His birth May Christmas bring justice and peace to this Earth The first once was a soldier, his face was quite pale He liked to go drinking good wine and strong ale, The dark battles he’d fought now a different place His name it was Ethan, he sang with such Grace The second man, Clem, was a joiner by trade He worked all his life at the plane and the lathe His hands in his pockets, his notes never wrong His song it was steady and gentle and strong The third man was round and his face could be seen through the smallest of gaps in his clothes in between His collar turned up and his hat pulled down tight Old Sam the baker with voice clear and bright Chorus They sang as the snow again silently fell It caught in their beards and moustaches as well They sang to the fields and the fells up above They sang just to be happy to share all their love Tripoli – Michael McSherry The Sea Is Still, And we will Soon Leave the bay of Tripoli Sweet child Hold me tight It’s going to be a dark night But this boat has a captain and he knows what is happening He knows the shore he’s been before, no-one knows more And this boat seems to me To be sea worthy Strong enough for you and me to cross the sea On such a sweet night with the stars burning so bright there can be no fright, not for our brave guys So close your eyes and if you are able pretend you are sleeping in your cradle That swings beneath the limbs of the baobab tree Close your eyes and if you’re able while you are rocking in your cradle can’t you hear your aunties singing float on the desert wind The Sea Is Still, And we will Soon Leave the bay of Tripoli La La La La So close your eyes and if you are able pretend you are sleeping in your cradle That swings beneath the limbs of the baobab tree Close your eyes and if you’re able while you are rocking in your cradle can’t you hear your aunties singing float on the desert wind The Sea Is Still, And we will Soon Leave the bay of Tripoli Sweet child Hold me tight It’s going to be a dark night Whisky and Gin – Michael McSherry Oh God, find me a job But I’m worth more than the minimum wage And if it’s OK I will work during the day ch And then at night I would like if you don’t mind To drink whisky and gin And you’re welcome to join in, Cos I don’t think it is a sin Oh God, find me a house I don’t care where, I just need out I think I could live in some flats Yes I think I could cope with that Oh God, don’t bother with a car It don’t look like I’m going that far Anyway, if I get stuck I put out my thumb and it brings me luck You Know Me – Kevin McSherry Ch You know me like no other lover Together we have blossomed and we’ve grown You brushed my resting body with your loving calm You plucked my soul and warmed it with your own In the bright and burning light of day you know me I’ve grown inside the words that you have said I have seen you stretch, and touch the higher things I’ve heard the words form in your head Like no other you have seen my nakedness You know me tongue tied and confused You have seen behind my masks, you’ve measured all my pain You have seen my hurt and picked it through Why do we fight, why do we play that game? Why do I pretend that life can be the same When half of me has taken flight, when darkness fills the space at night Where once you held both our souls together as your own I have seen your shadow dancing in the night I have seen the making of your style I have felt your body tense, in the darkness next to mine I have seen the rising of your smile A Place to Stay – album lyrics A Place To Stay Kevin McSherry You know I heard the stories told By many people they were young and they were old How England does this world bestride Of how hope and Justice is It’s pride Bridge: And here I am, and here I go I’m on a long cold lonely road When trains and planes cost so much less And they could carry me without the stress I risked my life I took a boat It had too many people in to float. Br + Ch If I had a place to stay A certain place to stay and to play Then I wouldn’t move at all You know I wouldn’t move at all And so I took a wagon ride I struggled for place to try and hide Between the wheels, below the frame I clung on through the cold and driving rain In all the world there is one place Where joy and laughter is the face Of those who greet you on the road Of those who come to share your heavy load As I was walking one day in December Kevin McSherry As I was walking one day in December I met with a soldier so cold and so grey His uniform sat with his figure like strangers His body week from the toil of the day In his dark eyes I saw a man broken A City of rubble, the buildings all gone And in that moment I saw a vision Of chaos that chilled my soul right to the bone We walked without words for a while to an ale house Where we supped good stew till our plates were wiped clean Then only then did he break his silence To speak of a vision of what might have been We can dwell on the hurt, we can dwell on the insult We can look for the devil within Or we can choose to see what can bind us To find what is beautiful under the skin He said when I was a boy I played the brave soldier I marched as a young man in uniform red With comrades I strode on the cobbles of strange towns Re-living and not-doubting the stories we’d read Yet I have seen that what we have in common Is greater than all that which holds us apart Our lives and our loves, our struggles, our fortune Our music, our laughter the joy in our hearts We can bring this joy right here in our own land Justice and fortune could be equally shared We can nurture the earth and our neighbours together For together our futures are much better prepared We can dwell on the hurt, we can dwell on the insult We can look for the devil within Or we can choose to see what can bind us To find what is beautiful under the skin Dark Times – If I could be free – Kevin McSherry If I could be free in this my own dear land Here safe and sound so my children grow free If there were no fear of oppression to harm them There’s no place on Earth that I’d rather be. But these are dark times in this my own dear land Dangerous movements of rancour and fear Subvert the truth with their lies and their malice To challenge the freedoms that cost us so dear The freedom to play and the freedom to prosper The freedom to gather in commonly cause The freedom to work for equitable wages For land not divided by wealth or by war Now venomous voices gather around us Oxygen blows through the patriot’s flame To ridicule reason and those who embrace it Take cudgels to critics who’s cares they distain. Were we to be free in this our own dear land We’d not carry the burden of a privileged few The land and the wealth and the work and the wages Would fairly divide to provide for us too Never again must we heed the bawling Of braggarts and blowhards who swagger and swear Who’d take us to war with their hatred and loathing In this our dear land we must banish despair May we walk without fear may we welcome the stranger May we work together the stronger to grow May we confront the tasks that we share together With sisters and brothers on far distant shores If we were free in this our own dear land To walk on the green hills and swim in the sea There would be no path that we could not follow No fences, no barbed wire and no chains to see If I could be free in this my own dear land Here safe and sound so my children grow free If there were no fear of oppression to harm them There’s no place on Earth that I’d rather be.

Song Lyrics All By The Quay – Kevin McSherry All by the quay In Belfast City I boarded a ship and was on my way I left my home, my wife and my family To cut hay in England and send home my pay Among the pigs, the sheep and the cattle I played a jig and I passed the day The moon did rise over Country and castle As we sailed into Morecambe Bay Chorus: Well it’s not the way that I’d spend my life boys I’d rather be back with my wife and my kin But as long as the rich spend their lives getting richer I’ll always be following the work where its in From Heysham Port to Lancaster City Is a fine old step on a moon lit night But with no warm words to welcome Paddy I slept neath a hedge in the cold starlight On the next days hike on to the hirings I fell in with a giant called Kevin O’Shea He’d taken two weeks to travel from Galway With a fine pair of horses and a gig to trade. I worked all summer for a man named Farrer Me and a fella from the county Tyrone We cut and carried the hay from his meadows And stacked it high dry in his barns of stone And over the meadows the curlews were calling The lapwings tumbled by lambs and by ewes At home these same sounds usher the spring in The same old sounds but a different view. We cut the tall grass in the morning right early Had it turned and shaken out by the bright midday In the evening light before dew was falling We forked it into field cocks for to spread next day And all this while my own land was tended By my sweet Maggie and my children three My Dad, God bless him, will help to bring the oats in The ‘taters we planted will wait for me Always – Kevin McSherry Sometimes in my head sometimes in my room You are with me – Always Sometimes in the car as I drive through the gloom You are with me – Always As I draw back the blinds and watch another day dawn You are with me – Always When all other light has gone in the dark of a storm You are with me – Always There by my side if I’m right, if I’m wrong You are with me – Always My love for you will never be gone You are with me – Always The smile on your lips your welcoming arms You are with me – Always That gentle love that keeps me so warm You are with me – Always I don’t know where this goes I know it’s going somewhere ‘Cos you are with me – Always Wherever it goes I know you’ll be there ‘Cos you are with me – Always Always on my lips always on my mind You are with me – Always A love like ours I never will find. You are with me – Always Bentham Hirings – Kevin McSherry It’s a long days walk to Bentham hirings All on the lanes of the vale of the Lune To pass my time and ease my contentment I took out my whistle and I played me a tune rpt. A summer haze hung over the valley there was barely a breeze disturbing the air when over the fields came the sound of sweet laughter And a north country maiden with bonny brown hair She said young man where are you bound now? And why are you playing your whistle so gay I said I am bound for the Bentham hirings And I play to remember my home far away She said to me, then why do you travel So far from your home and your own country? I said there’s no work, no land and no wages, I have brothers and sisters at home I must feed. Then come with me now to my own dear Father He’s ‘bout for to travel to Bentham today To hire a young man to help with the hay time I’ll say to him now that it’s you he should pay I tell you good sirs and all that do listen here That summer sun was the finest I knew I sent home my love and all my receiving And married that girl in the warm summer dew. repeat 1st verse Binary Decisions – Kevin McSherry I want some binary decisions Something to split me and you I need some binary decisions To divide us in two Some loveless reason Something outrageous will do Yes I need something outrageous I don’t care what I say I’ll say something outrageous And repeat it all day It don’t have to make sense Reason just gets in the way Chorus: Are you in or out now? Are you on my side? Are you with me or not? Cos it’s time to decide I’m not here to reason I’m only here for the ride How I love the media They get paid by the word We’ve all been to the same school We love something absurd They’ll repeat every nonsense Every outrageous word We hate career politicians It’s only me you can trust You know I’m on your side And I’ll kick up a fuss I drink the same drink that you do, I drink it from a pint glass. I am a populist politician And I know what to do We use binary decisions To divide us in two Then we’ll know who’s on our side They’ll hate the same people we do. We want some binary decisions Don’t leave no room for doubt Some divisive reasons Some thing to give it a clout so I can easily say Are you in or out Say my Name – Kevin McSherry My oppressors took away my name. They called me by an unpleasant thing. The bullies only see the difference in me, They treat my brothers and my sisters just the same Without love in their jealous eyes I’m an outsider, an embarrassment, a curse. Without love they cannot see the irreplaceable me That my mother used to cherish and to nurse But I am not one of a type I am me. I have a name and a right to be free I’m entitled to be known by the state and by my own By the name that my mother gave to me. With no name They can pretend that I’m not special. Without respect bullies take their fill. With no name I am easier to torture to deport With no name I am easier to kill. Pikey, Paddy, Packy, Papist, Jock or Jew Asylum Seeker, Refugee are just a few Of the names that people choose to rob and to abuse Those who for no fault of their own don’t look like you But I am not one of a type I am me. I have a name and a right to be free I’m entitled to be known by the state and by my own By the name that my mother gave to me. Every hair on my head has been counted Every hair on my head it has been seen By my maker and she knows me from my head down to my toes And by my name she will call me when life’s closed. Though I share my name with others it is my own. It belongs to us and it belongs to me alone My name speaks out for me before I knock upon your door It holds me there on peoples breath when I have gone Say my name and know that I’m a wonder Say my name and show that I am free Say my name and try to see that through all eternity There will never ever be another me. (repeat) There are names that people choose to rob and to abuse The bullies only see the difference in me But my maker and she knows from my head right to my toes And by my name She will call me when life’s closed Say my name and know that I’m a wonder Say my name and show that I am free Say my name and try to see that through all eternity There will never ever be another me There will never ever be another you or me Sledging on my own – Kevin McSherry Chorus Today as the orange morning light Warmed the winter stone Without a child to guide me I went sledging on my own. Stealing time before breakfast While the sleepy fought off the day I took from the shed my children’s sled The finest I’ve ever made The ghost of my childhood beside me Chapped legs and hat pulled down Pulled his sled on fraying thread To the hilltop’s glistening crown Right there in that crispy silence We raced the slope alone The finest and fastest powder snow That my ancient bones have known We finished white faced and excited Feet flat on the springy mesh fence The most wonderful thing I have done for too long So we did it again and again The Maid of Malham Moor – Kevin McSherry As I walked out on Malham Moor One morning in the month of May I met a maid and fell in beside her For she was walking my way ch She sang so sweet the birds sang too I knew my heart would find no cure In all my life I never met another Like the maid I met on Malham moor She said young man it’s not my custom To walk and talk with passers by But if I do sing and you do play Then this mornings walk will quickly fly The sun was sinking low to the horizon When we came to take our separate way And as we said farewell to one another And vowed we’d meet another day Now our lives have taken us to different place And we never we never met to sing and play again But the joy we shared at that surprising meeting Will stay with me till my life’s end Three Men Came A Walking – Kevin McSherry Three men came a walking one cold winters night. The snow had been falling the stars they were bright They stopped at the place where the path was least worn And sang of the joy of that first Christmas morn Ch. Merry Christmas they sang to the sky and the snow. They sang to the places where long shadows grow They threw back their heads as they sang of His birth May Christmas bring justice and peace to this Earth The first once was a soldier, his face was quite pale He liked to go drinking good wine and strong ale, The dark battles he’d fought now a different place His name it was Ethan, he sang with such Grace The second man, Clem, was a joiner by trade He worked all his life at the plane and the lathe His hands in his pockets, his notes never wrong His song it was steady and gentle and strong The third man was round and his face could be seen through the smallest of gaps in his clothes in between His collar turned up and his hat pulled down tight Old Sam the baker with voice clear and bright Chorus They sang as the snow again silently fell It caught in their beards and moustaches as well They sang to the fields and the fells up above They sang just to be happy to share all their love Tripoli – Michael McSherry The Sea Is Still, And we will Soon Leave the bay of Tripoli Sweet child Hold me tight It’s going to be a dark night But this boat has a captain and he knows what is happening He knows the shore he’s been before, no-one knows more And this boat seems to me To be sea worthy Strong enough for you and me to cross the sea On such a sweet night with the stars burning so bright there can be no fright, not for our brave guys So close your eyes and if you are able pretend you are sleeping in your cradle That swings beneath the limbs of the baobab tree Close your eyes and if you’re able while you are rocking in your cradle can’t you hear your aunties singing float on the desert wind The Sea Is Still, And we will Soon Leave the bay of Tripoli La La La La So close your eyes and if you are able pretend you are sleeping in your cradle That swings beneath the limbs of the baobab tree Close your eyes and if you’re able while you are rocking in your cradle can’t you hear your aunties singing float on the desert wind The Sea Is Still, And we will Soon Leave the bay of Tripoli Sweet child Hold me tight It’s going to be a dark night Whisky and Gin – Michael McSherry Oh God, find me a job But I’m worth more than the minimum wage And if it’s OK I will work during the day ch And then at night I would like if you don’t mind To drink whisky and gin And you’re welcome to join in, Cos I don’t think it is a sin Oh God, find me a house I don’t care where, I just need out I think I could live in some flats Yes I think I could cope with that Oh God, don’t bother with a car It don’t look like I’m going that far Anyway, if I get stuck I put out my thumb and it brings me luck You Know Me – Kevin McSherry Ch You know me like no other lover Together we have blossomed and we’ve grown You brushed my resting body with your loving calm You plucked my soul and warmed it with your own In the bright and burning light of day you know me I’ve grown inside the words that you have said I have seen you stretch, and touch the higher things I’ve heard the words form in your head Like no other you have seen my nakedness You know me tongue tied and confused You have seen behind my masks, you’ve measured all my pain You have seen my hurt and picked it through Why do we fight, why do we play that game? Why do I pretend that life can be the same When half of me has taken flight, when darkness fills the space at night Where once you held both our souls together as your own I have seen your shadow dancing in the night I have seen the making of your style I have felt your body tense, in the darkness next to mine I have seen the rising of your smile A Place to Stay – album lyrics A Place To Stay Kevin McSherry You know I heard the stories told By many people they were young and they were old How England does this world bestride Of how hope and Justice is It’s pride Bridge: And here I am, and here I go I’m on a long cold lonely road When trains and planes cost so much less And they could carry me without the stress I risked my life I took a boat It had too many people in to float. Br + Ch If I had a place to stay A certain place to stay and to play Then I wouldn’t move at all You know I wouldn’t move at all And so I took a wagon ride I struggled for place to try and hide Between the wheels, below the frame I clung on through the cold and driving rain In all the world there is one place Where joy and laughter is the face Of those who greet you on the road Of those who come to share your heavy load As I was walking one day in December Kevin McSherry As I was walking one day in December I met with a soldier so cold and so grey His uniform sat with his figure like strangers His body week from the toil of the day In his dark eyes I saw a man broken A City of rubble, the buildings all gone And in that moment I saw a vision Of chaos that chilled my soul right to the bone We walked without words for a while to an ale house Where we supped good stew till our plates were wiped clean Then only then did he break his silence To speak of a vision of what might have been We can dwell on the hurt, we can dwell on the insult We can look for the devil within Or we can choose to see what can bind us To find what is beautiful under the skin He said when I was a boy I played the brave soldier I marched as a young man in uniform red With comrades I strode on the cobbles of strange towns Re-living and not-doubting the stories we’d read Yet I have seen that what we have in common Is greater than all that which holds us apart Our lives and our loves, our struggles, our fortune Our music, our laughter the joy in our hearts We can bring this joy right here in our own land Justice and fortune could be equally shared We can nurture the earth and our neighbours together For together our futures are much better prepared We can dwell on the hurt, we can dwell on the insult We can look for the devil within Or we can choose to see what can bind us To find what is beautiful under the skin Dark Times – If I could be free – Kevin McSherry If I could be free in this my own dear land Here safe and sound so my children grow free If there were no fear of oppression to harm them There’s no place on Earth that I’d rather be. But these are dark times in this my own dear land Dangerous movements of rancour and fear Subvert the truth with their lies and their malice To challenge the freedoms that cost us so dear The freedom to play and the freedom to prosper The freedom to gather in commonly cause The freedom to work for equitable wages For land not divided by wealth or by war Now venomous voices gather around us Oxygen blows through the patriot’s flame To ridicule reason and those who embrace it Take cudgels to critics who’s cares they distain. Were we to be free in this our own dear land We’d not carry the burden of a privileged few The land and the wealth and the work and the wages Would fairly divide to provide for us too Never again must we heed the bawling Of braggarts and blowhards who swagger and swear Who’d take us to war with their hatred and loathing In this our dear land we must banish despair May we walk without fear may we welcome the stranger May we work together the stronger to grow May we confront the tasks that we share together With sisters and brothers on far distant shores If we were free in this our own dear land To walk on the green hills and swim in the sea There would be no path that we could not follow No fences, no barbed wire and no chains to see If I could be free in this my own dear land Here safe and sound so my children grow free If there were no fear of oppression to harm them There’s no place on Earth that I’d rather be. None So Blind – Kevin McSherry I never understood when my father said to me There are some so blind that they just don’t want to see They don’t want to look for fear what they might find They don’t want to see what might disturb their peace of mind There are none so blind as them as cannot see There are none so blind as them as cannot see Them as cannot see son them as cannot see There are none so blind as them as cannot see Them as cannot see the writing on the wall Them as cannot see the hunger in the hall He said “When you’ve got a problem boy the most important task Is to make sure your solution’s fits the question you have asked. There are many people son strolling through this land Who cannot see the conflict in the things that they’ve got planned” Them as go to war and say I’m fighting for my peace Them as buy stolen goods and complain about the thieves Them as praise the one who gives alms to the poor But calls a man a fool if he asks why they are poor Them as cannot see the rising of the tide Them as cannot see that there’s nowhere else to hide Them as cannot see that when all the bees are gone No-matter rich or poor, we won’t be lasting long. You can take a horse to water but you can’t make him drink You can give a man a reason but you can’t make him think When the bright Sun that he’s reading gives substance to his fears And the blinding light it’s shining hides the reason for his fears

In England’s green and pleasant land This happy breed of men will stand Against the tide of time and Man In England’s pleasant land This fortress built by Nature’s wealth Against infection for herself Will spurn the bile of plague and stealth In England’s pleasant land This royal throne, this sceptered isle, Does all its enemies beguile And on us all the warm sun smiles In England’s pleasant land It lights upon the golden few And shines upon the homeless too Who sleep on cold streets in full view In Englands Pleasant land This precious stone set in silver sea Where justice will always agree With those who can afford the fee In England’s pleasant land The landlord with his pockets deep To warmth and comfort wakes from sleep While others struggle for their keep In England’s pleasant Land This majesty, this Godly seat Where fine reward the just do reap And all folk do their station keep In England’s pleasant land With mountains, cliffs and beaches grand This envy of less happy lands It’s here the noble English stand In England’s pleasant land

Ch: I’m too wise to weep I’m Just too wise to weep My head’s too full of trouble And I’m too wise to weep I’ve seen so many troubles Seen them gather every day Seen the broken and the hungry Scratch a living from the clay Watched the torment of those driven By conflict from their land seen the tears of separation Heard the hatred at first hand I saw a woman last night She was trying to get some sleep She had all of her possessions Lying round her in a heap With her home in scattered pieces Lifted roofs and shattered trees The precious and trivial Blowing in the mocking breeze My innocence is stolen I’ve seen things I should never see I’ve seen faces the captive held By those who should not be free I’ve been hardened by the murders
And the bombing and the war Broken people broken Promises. Till I can cry no more

She sits without a thought of time In busy city’s pavement grime And with folded cardboard claims a space Till numbness drives her from that place Ch Fortune keeps me here Fortune keeps you there The cliff of fortune’s cold and bare We danced its edge and we feel cold air She hides herself within herself The face you see is one she found And buried deep within this shape She’s frozen on this stone cold ground She’s travelled now throughout this land Received the help of many hands The rich have kept their money close Twas those in need that helped the most Honour be our pride Truth our Guide England our grace Justice our prize

Here I stand in the cool of the dying day Birds fly home above The setting sun is ablaze in the western sky And my heart burning with love Cos your love lights up my life Your laughter my soul The setting sun is ablaze in the western sky And my heart burns with love I could have all the wealth in this great big world All things old and new But there’s not one precious thing in this whole world could compare with you Cos your love lights up my life Your laughter my soul There’s not one precious thing in the whole of this world Could ever compare with you I could find myself in a darkened place. No light from above I’d just turn my thoughts to your smiling face To find the light of your love Your love lights up my life Your laughter my soul I’d just turn my thoughts to your smiling face To find the light of your love Sweet dreams fill the soft of the velvet night To drive cares away And when you take my hand in the morning bright Then we will dance through the day Your love lights up my life Your laughter my soul And when you take my hand in the morning bright We will dance through the day Repeat first verse

I remember the day when my nan stood me there On a chair as she dressed me she talked of war And she pinned a poppy right here on my new coat and said “Son you must make sure this happens no more” Ch Make sure this happens no more Make sure this happens no more She pinned a poppy right here on my coat And said “Make sure this happens no more” There was no talk of heroes and no talk of valour No talk of battles hard won or hard lost She spoke of the folly and short wasted lives Of lovers and friends whose lives it had cost Never again must we live in trenches, Never again must we go to war, Never again must the lives of the young Be wasted in battle as they have before

Chorus: We’re up into the hay, up into the hay (repeat the last line of each verse) There’s red on the horizon it is a brand new day Just as the sun comes to the sky we’re up into the hay The larks in mighty chorus call dawning of the day So come you lads and lassies all, we’re up into the hay. With our breakfast still before us and sleep still in our eye We’re up into the meadow with our whetstone and our scythe We spent the night a peening and the edge is mighty keen Not in the whole of England can a sharper scythe be seen The squire’s bagging pheasant with a favoured few If we flush out a rabbit then we’ll have it in a stew The sun begins to warm our backs and drives off all the dew We spread out all the windrows just to let the air blow through The landlord’s at his table with his agent drinking ale While we labour in the sun a scything down his dale We’ll rake the grass up into rows when the sun is at its height And do it twice or more before the darkness of the night The dew begins a falling, sweat wet upon our backs Come the dusk we’ll have the hay all gathered on to racks If the farmer wants his grass cut and his fields all nice and trim He’ll have to bring us pies and ale before the sun goes in

Now is the time of year When dark and chill draw near When fires burn bright And hearth sides light Our hearts with warmth and cheer All at this time of year Ch Wassail Wassail down all of the dale Fine food, fine words be ours to share Wassail wassail wassail Fine friends and good wassail. Our harvest time is done The year is almost run The crops are stacked, The barns are packed The beast all in the byre And we all round the fire And now is the time for song, For voices hale and strong For wassails bright That hearts delight For carols loud and clear All at this time of year So bring out your cider and your beer Bring faces full of cheer Bring pies bring mince Bring fruit bring quince Bring all that you desire Come join our Wassail choir

We can take a walk, We can ride a bike And if the sun is in the sky Then we can even take a hike We can use my sisters skipping rope We can wear our roller skates And we can dance in our dancing shoes ‘Cos it never is too late. ‘Cos dancing is the thing that takes My spirit to the sky You can do it when the music’s low You can do it when the music’s high You can have some people with you You can do it on your own And it doesn’t really matter If you’re bass or baritone ‘Cos when the music takes your soul And lifts your spirits high You can feel it in your body As your hips they flick from side to side Your hands rise up above your head Your shoulders start to shake And from those bones that creak and groan The music drives away all ache We can take a walk, We can ride a bike And if the sun is in the sky Then we can even take a hike We can use my sisters skipping rope We can wear our roller skates And we can dance in our dancing shoes ‘Cos it never is too late.