Flogging Molly: To youth

Tell me why must a man be of serviceTo his lord and the gods seldom highFrom the grave sprang the name of our fathersBut there's no glint in a dead man's eye.Tell me why are our fields filled with hungerAnd fruitless the crop bitterd soilSo I say my farewell to a nationAs the leaf waves goodbye to its sunSo it's to youth I sing you this storyAnd it's of youth I sing it nowLike the train that derails without warningI must leave what I left far behindSo goodbye my sweet Roisin DubhI say goodbyeTell me why must our peace be this puzzleThat fractures the land splinters warThe last nail sank the shame on our coffinBut in the end we must all die aloneSo it's to youth I sing you this storyAnd it's of youth I sing it nowLike the train that derails without warningSome must leave what they left far behindSo goodbye my sweet Roisin DubhI say goodbyeAnd the bark fell from treeTo the ground that now bleedsOn the anguish that never learnt to shoutWhen the clash of the drum will surrender the gunAnd of this sadness we shall no longer speakUntil tank and bomb are but all forgotten songsThat's when I and we will sing againSo goodbye my sweet Roisin DubhGoodbye now until we meet againTell me why must our grief still be grievingFor a language that never spoke its lossBut this tongue spit with fire will tear down the barbwireAnd rip the belly from the waxy ghostSo it's to youth I sing you this storyAnd it's of youth I sing it nowLike the train that derails without warningWe must leave what We left far behindSo goodbye my sweet Roisin DubhI say goodbyeUntil we meet againShe'll rise to beautifyBut slumber now must restO my Roisin Dubh I'll forever loveThe youth you once possessed.