09

Lyrics

​(Intro)
(A slow, melancholic acoustic guitar fingerpicking, joined by a mournful, soaring fiddle melody. A soft, low drone from the Uilleann pipes begins to build in the background.)
​(Verse 1)
The guns have gone to silence, and the walls are standing bare
But the scent of smoke and sulfur is still hanging in the air.
I’m standing by the Tartar Gate, a weary, broken man
With a heart that’s heavy laden as only an Irishman can.
I’m watching as the fires rise against the darkening sky
A final, burning tribute to the ones who had to die.
There’s no green grass of home today, no shamrock on the grave
Just the ash and the embers of the beautiful and brave.
​(Verse 2)
I see the smoke of the one who prayed to a God he’d newly found
A Christian son of China, now a spirit on this ground.
He didn't have a uniform, he didn't have a name
But he held the line beside us through the thunder and the flame.
And there’s the fire for the sailor from the Austro-Hungarian fleet
The one who stayed behind us on the bloodied, muddy street.
He kept his Mauser singing 'til the last of us were through
The bravest soul in Peking, and a brother through and through.
​(Chorus)
OH, THE SMOKE IT CURLS AND RISES, A HEAVY, SORROWFUL SHROUD
FOR THE FRIENDS WHO FOUGHT BESIDE ME, NOW LOST WITHIN THE CROWD!
WE SHARED THE BREAD AND WATER, WE SHARED THE FEAR AND FIGHT
NOW WE SHARE THESE BURNING EMBERS, IN THE FADING OF THE LIGHT!
YEAH, THE ASHES DRIFT TO HEAVEN, FROM THE GARDENS OF THE KHAN
AND I’M STANDING IN THE SHADOWS... THE LAST REMAINING MAN.
​(Bridge)
(The fiddle takes on a more frantic, weeping tone, as the Uilleann pipes swell into a powerful, heart-wrenching lament.)
From the Liffey to the Peiho, it’s a long and bitter road!
And every friend I’ve buried is another heavy load!
We fought for different empires, we spoke in different tongues
But we breathed the same black powder into all our weary lungs!
​(Verse 3)
The relief is in the city now, the bugles sound so sweet
But they can't bring back the brothers who are missing from the street.
I’ll carry them inside of me, back to the emerald shore
The sailor and the convert, and a hundred heroes more.
I’ll tell the folks in Dublin of the stand we had to make
And the hearts that had to shatter for a desperate city’s sake.
Until the fires all go out, and the morning starts to grey
I’ll stand here with my brothers... 'til the smoke all drifts away.
​(Outro)
(The music fades to a single, quiet acoustic guitar and a faint, drifting fiddle note.)
The embers are all cooling...
The stars are coming out...
I’ll see you in the silence, boys... beyond the fear and doubt.
Sleep soft, me brothers.
(Fade out)
​Lyrics:
Oh, the smoke it curls and rises, a heavy, sorrowful shroud
For the friends who fought beside me, now lost within the crowd.
We shared the bread and water, we shared the fear and fight
Now we share these burning embers, in the fading of the light.
Lyrics:
Oh, the smoke it curls and rises, a heavy, sorrowful shroud
For the friends who fought beside me, now lost within the crowd.
We shared the bread and water, we shared the fear and fight
Now we share these burning embers, in the fading of the light.
​Lyrics:
Oh, the smoke it curls and rises, a heavy, sorrowful shroud
For the friends who fought beside me, now lost within the crowd.
We shared the bread and water, we shared the fear and fight
Now we share these burning embers, in the fading of the light.