Page 93
after Christy Moore
Only Our Rivers Run Free
by Michael McConnell
When apples still grow in November
When blossoms still bloom on each tree
When leaves are still green in December
It's then that our land will be free
I wander her hills and her valleys
And still through my sorrow I see
A land that has never known freedom
Only her rivers run free
I drink to the death of her manhood
Those men who would rather have died
Than to live in the cold chains of bondage
To bring back their rights were denied
Where are you now when we need you
What burns where the flame used to be
Are you gone like the snows of last winter
Will only our rivers run free
How sweet is life but we're crying
How mellow the wine but we're dry
How fragrant the rose but it's dying
How gentle the wind but it sighs
What good is in youth when it's aging
What joy is in eyes that can't see
When there's sorrow in sunshine and flowers
And only our rivers run free
When blossoms still bloom on each tree
When leaves are still green in December
It's then that our land will be free
I wander her hills and her valleys
And still through my sorrow I see
A land that has never known freedom
Only her rivers run free
I drink to the death of her manhood
Those men who would rather have died
Than to live in the cold chains of bondage
To bring back their rights were denied
Where are you now when we need you
What burns where the flame used to be
Are you gone like the snows of last winter
Will only our rivers run free
How sweet is life but we're crying
How mellow the wine but we're dry
How fragrant the rose but it's dying
How gentle the wind but it sighs
What good is in youth when it's aging
What joy is in eyes that can't see
When there's sorrow in sunshine and flowers
And only our rivers run free