Your Political Wings

We`re all disillusioned with the way that we live
Your policies to me seem all receive, no give
Why don`t you pick your fights with the social elite
Cos the people that your struggles for
can`t even walk their streets
Both our sides have a common link
We could save the situation if we`d just stop and think
Ideology and martyrdom are meaningless bluff
When the people that you`re fighting for,
Have died for you enough
You - you`re not killing on my behalf
What are you - street people or military staff?
It`s all been done before in your favourite folklore
In by-gone days of yore
Unite the people through the ballot box
Give them all peace not tenament blocks
Sectarian crime is not my socialism
Do the people that you`re fighting for,
Want `you` to liberate them
The bombs that you plant, every once in a while
blind the Irish eyes that find it hard to smile
You leave behind a trail of frightened, crying mothers
And the children that you`re fighting for,
Are fighting one another
You - you see it all so clear cut
Press Release - "It`s so regrettable but…"
Don`t you go by any laws?
Pause, look for a round of applause
But then it`s all for the cause.

(Burgess/Coulter)

On Kingsmill Road

The factory whistle screams an end to toil,
The work day done
The mini-bus, it idles down the lane
To home they run
Oh what`s for dinner, what`s for tea?
There`s a football on TV
On Kingsmill Road, a prayer for the dying
On Kingsmill Road
On Kingsmill Road
Some frightened men are standing in a line
But none know why
The linen workers pray to God above
But ten shall die
Whilst carnage fills a country lane,
Their families wait in vain
On Kingsmill Road, a prayer for the dying
On Kingsmill Road
On Kingsmill Road
That massacre is frozen in my mind
A stark nightmare
The birds, the trees, the scattered memories
Still lying there
And Christ must hang His head in shame,
they murder in his name
On Kingsmill Road, a prayer for the dying
On Kingsmill Road
On Kingsmill Road

(Burgess)

Playing Cards with Dead Men

To keep us down, in days gone by
You played the orange card
And European fields of war, like sheep,
We`d rush to guard
Six county men have looked to you
In past and present strife
Six county men again have found,
You`re betting with their life
And you`re playing cards with dead men
But you`re losing every hand
You cheat my people, past and present
We`ve lived and died upon this land
You`ve used our land, a testing ground
For ballot box and gun
You`ve cut our wages, raised our tax
We`re learning one by one

You`ve dealt us all the Erin deal
Now come and count the cost
You`ve gambled with democracy
You`ve gambled and you`ve lost
And you`re playing cards with dead men
But you`re losing every hand
You cheat my people, past and present
We`ll live and die upon this land.

(Burgess/Ruefrex)

Days of Heaven

A burned out pub,
a playground for the bored
A Cyclops skylight offer sanctuary
A boy peeps through,
The corrugated iron
From the safety of his world with a world
Far away from sirens, in his shell
Days of heaven, nights of hell
Little fortresses of common love
Footballs burst on glass-topped, backyard walls
`Johnny Seven`, `Hunts` and `Hide n` Go`
"Best prices paid for copper and for lead"
But with darkness, the stones and bottles fell
Days of Heaven, nights of hell
A generation built from red bricked streets
All proud and hard and honourable men
One same purpose, that of right and wrong
Family and jobs, their main concern
Another side the newsmen never tell
Days of heaven, nights of hell.

(Burgess/Ruefrex)

Playing Adult Games

All the rest, voted yes
So I thought I`d better agree
With the lad from the Kesh
And the man at the back we made three, I wanted to ask them,
Why they wouldn`t do the things that they wanted,
Me to go through
And they said
"Oh, you`re playing grown-up cops and robbers now
Oh, you`ve paid your dues, your oath, your pledge your vow
Oh, never worry, cos worry never helps
Just playing adult games, collecting cowboy scalps"
It was square, and small and squat,
And brown paper clad
And I thought of the things that I`d done,
And the times that I`d had
I`ve visions of mayhem, as I close the bar door
Still cannot believe this would even a score
And they said
"Oh, we`ve told you son, you`re not to think that way
And don`t forget about the trigger switch delay
Oh, you faceless men, you`ll answer for this yet,
Just playing adult games, deserving what you get"
On the line at the top it said, it said
"Prime and retire right away"
and they knew that I knew, you can bet that I didn`t delay
The room it revolved with the sound of a bang
My fate was resolved, my hospital ward song
And they said
"Oh, you`ve played their game, you must have been insane
Oh, just inhale, forget about the pain
Oh, you got more, than you bargained for
Just playing adult games, and no-ones keeping score
Moving counters, throwing dice
Playing adult games
Moving counters, throwing dice
Playing adult games
Naïve children pay the price, fulfilling someone`s aims
Moving counters, throwing dice
Playing adult games

(Burgess/Ruefrex)