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Marching

from No Strangers Here by SixMileBridge

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The first and only time heard this song at the Girvan Folk Festival on the Strathclyde in Scotland. Sung by an incredibly tall, proud looking woman, obviously of Viking descent, who jammed her hands in her skirt pockets and belted it a capella in a hotel meeting room full of merry drinkers. She quieted them in a split second and all were mezmerized.
I brought it home and kept it in the back of my mind for ten years. This was finally the time.

The lyrics explain themselves. It refers to the British occupation of Northern Ireland but is applicable in a devastating number of places in our world today.

lyrics

marching
g. larkbey

daddy can you tell me what are they marching for
are they marching into battle are they marching into war
they are marching for their freedom they are marching for their right
they’re marching for the things they won’t give up without a fight
they’re marching for their freedom to speak and to hear
they’re marching for the things in life that we all hold so dear

daddy can you tell me why are they marching now
why do their banners say we are bloody but unbowed
they’ve faced the baton charges and they’ve nursed the ones who’ve bled
they know the sound of horses hooves and truncheons to the head
their leaders have been taken from their homes at dead of night
but they’ll not give up the battle no they’ll not give up the fight

daddy now they’re marching they’re marching by once more
and some of them are weeping as they pass on by our door
the papers said an accident and one said suicide
it seems that no one will admit just how the prisoner died
well i’ve seen a lot of life though i’m only ten times four
but a man who beat himself to death i’ve never seen before

daddy tell me why you talk in whispers on the phone
and why won’t you let me go and play out on my own
hush my child, don’t let them hear you talk in such a way
for they’ve passed a law to stop you from disputing what they say
and someday in the future when we can’t take anymore
we’ll march again and next time we’ll be marching into war

credits

from No Strangers Here, released July 11, 2000

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Maggie Drennon image

Maggie Drennon New York, New York

Maggie Drennon is a premiere voice in Celtic singing, a long standing influence in folk music. She was a founding member of Ceili's Muse in 1989, and SixMileBridge in 1997

Now, with a solo performance that is meaningful yet lighthearted, she is deeply devoted to sharing Celtic traditions with American audiences.

Most importantly she brings us the soaring voice that will inspire your heart! ... more

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