There Were Roses --- Tommy Sands
My [G]song
for you this [C]evening – it’s [D]not
to make you [G]sad.
Nor for [Em]adding
to the [D]sorrows of this [C]troubled
northern [G]land..
But [G]lately
I’ve been [C]thinking, and it [D]just
won’t leave my [G]mind.
To [Em]tell
you of two [D]friends one time who were [C]both
good friends of [G]mine.
[G]Alan
Bell from [C]Benagh lived [D]just
across the [G]fields.
A [Em]great
man for the [D]music and the [C]dancing
and the [G]reels.
O’[G]Malley
came from [C]South Armagh to [D]court
young Alice [G]fair.
We’d [Em]often
meet on the [D]Ryan Road and [C]laughter
filled the [G]air.
[G]There
were [C]ros-[G]es,
[C]ros-[G]es.
There were [C]ros-[G]es
And the [Em]tears
of the [D]people ran to-[C]ge-[G]ther.
Though [G]Alan
he was [C]Protestant, and [D]Sean
was Catholic [G]born
It [Em]never
made a [D]difference for the [C]friendship
it was [G]strong.
And [G]sometimes
in the [C]evening when we [D]heard
the sound of [G]drums,
We [Em]said
it won’t di-[D]vide us, we [C]always
will be [G]one.
For the [G]ground
our fathers [C]ploughed in, well the [D]soil
is just the [G]same,
And the [Em]places
where we [D]say our prayers have [C]just
got different [G]names.
We [G]talked
about the [C]friends who died and [D]hoped
there’d be no [G]more.
It was [Em]little
then we [D]realised the [C]tragedy
in [G]store.
[G]There
were [C]ros-[G]es,
[C]ros-[G]es.
There were [C]ros-[G]es
And the [Em]tears
of the [D]people ran to-[C]ge-[G]ther.
It was [G]on
a Sunday [C]morning when the [D]awful
news came [G]‘round.
A-[Em]nother
killing [D]had been done just [C]outside
Newry [G]town.
We [G]knew
that Alan [C]danced up there; we [D]knew
he liked the [G]band.
When we [Em]heard
that [D]he was dead we [C]could
not under-[G]stand.
We [G]gathered
at the [C]graveside on that [D]cold
and rainy [G]day,
And the [Em]minister
he [D]closed his eyes and [C]prayed
for no re-[G]venge.
And [G]all
the ones who [C]knew him from a-[D]long
the Ryan [G]Road
[Em]Bowed
their heads and [D]said a prayer for the
[C]resting of his [G]soul.
[G]There
were [C]ros-[G]es,
[C]ros-[G]es.
There were [C]ros-[G]es
And the [Em]tears
of the [D]people ran to-[C]ge-[G]ther.
Well [G]fear
it filled the [C]countryside; there was [D]fear
in every [G]home.
When the [Em]car
of death came [D]prowling ‘round the [C]lonely
Ryan [G]Road.
A [G]Catholic
will be [C]killed tonight to [D]even
up the [G]score.
Oh [Em]Christ!
It’s young O’[D]Malley that they’ve [C]taken
from the [G]door.
[G]
“Alan was my [C]friend” he cried; he [D]begged
them with his [G]fear.
But [Em]centuries
of [D]hatred have [C]ears
that cannot [G]hear.
“An [G]eye
for an [C]eye” was [D]all
that filled their [G]minds.
And an-[Em]other
eye for an-[D]other eye, ‘til [C]everyone
is [G]blind.
[G]There
were [C]ros-[G]es,
[C]ros-[G]es.
There were [C]ros-[G]es
And the [Em]tears
of the [D]people ran to-[C]ge-[G]ther.
So my [G]song
for you this [C]evening – it’s [D]not
to make you [G]sad.
Nor for [Em]adding
to the [D]sorrows of this [C]troubled
northern [G]land.
But [G]lately
I’ve been [C]thinking and it [D]just
won’t leave my [G]mind,
To [Em]tell
you of two [D]friends one time who were [C]both
good friends o [G]mine.
I [G]don’t
know where the [C]moral is or [D]where
this song should [G]end.
But I [Em]wonder
just how [D]many wars are [C]fought
between good [G]friends.
And [G]those
who give the [C]orders are [D]not
the ones to [G]die.
It’s [Em]Bell
and O’[D]Malley, and the [C]likes
of you and [G]I.
[G]There
were [C]ros-[G]es,
[C]ros-[G]es.
There were [C]ros-[G]es
And the [Em]tears
of the [D]people ran to-[C]ge-[G]ther.