Èirinn

(album: Searchlight - 1989)

What makes me walk through Ireland's shrines
And Ireland's holy shores
To see a country crucified
Your beauty crowned in thorns
And as I watch that wondrous cross
That's been hewn down and severed in two
There's something here
That draws me near
To wear the green for you

To see you there blood brother Gael
The face, the tongue my own
Many places in my own country
Could not make me feel more at home
Laughter and music through the night
Your freedom in the dark
Tonight I swear I'd gladly wear
The green next to my heart

From the long and rolling Antrim hills
Through the wilds of Donegal
The songs of history are sung
Every stone on every wall
But here in our land how can we stand
And wash our hands of shame
When the sins of generations fall
Across the green like rain

Here one world window opens wide
And demons they show face
Some of your men have taken seeds of truth
And planted fields of hate
This way has never won a war
And I fear that when the harvest comes
You'll see your freedom fall on stony ground
And the green overgrown