There Were Roses

By Tommy Sands
Rise Up Singing chapter: Peace, p.164
Verses: D - GA D / Bm A G - / 1st / Bm A G D ://
Chorus: G D G D G D - / Bm A G -

My song for you this evening, it's not to make you sad
Nor for adding to the sorrows of this troubled northern land
But lately I've been thinking, and it just won't leave my mind
I'll tell you of two friends one time, who were both good friends of mine
Allan Bell from Banagh, he lived just across the fields
A great man for the music and the dancing and the reels
O'Malley came from South Armagh to court young Alice fair
And we'd often meet on the Ryan Road and the laughter filled the air

Chorus:
There were roses, roses, there were roses
And the tears of the people ran together

Though Allan he was Protestant and Sean was Catholic born
It never made a difference for the frienship it was strong
And sometimes in the evening when we heard the sound of drums
We said, "It won't divide us, we will always be one"
For the ground our fathers plowed in, the soil it is the same
And the places where we say our prayers have just got different names
We talked about the friends who'd died, and hoped there'd be no more
It's little that we realized the tragedy in store

It was on a Sunday morning when the awful news came round
Another killing had been done just outside Newry Town
We knew that Allan danced up there, we knew he'd liked the band
But when we heard that he was dead we just could not understand
We gathered round the graveside on a cold and rainy day
The minister he closed his eyes and he prayed for no revenge
(...and for no revenge he prayed)
And all of us who knew him from along the Ryan Road
We bowed our heads and said a prayer for the resting of his soul

Now fear it filled the countryside there was fear in every home
When late at night a car came prowling round the Ryan Road
A Catholic would be killed tonight to even up the score
Oh Christ it's young O'Malley that they've taken from the door
"Allan was my friend!" he cried, he begged them with his tears
But centuries of hatred have ears that do not hear
An eye for an eye, it was all that filled their minds
And another eye for another eye 'til everyone is blind

So my song for you this evening, it's not to make you sad
Nor for adding to the sorrows of our troubled northern land
But lately I've been thinking and it just won't leave my mind
I'll tell you of two friends of mine who were both good friends of mine
Now I don't know where the moral is or where this song should end
But I wonder just how many wars are fought between good friends
And those who give the orders are not the ones to die
It's Bell and O'Malley and the likes of you and I