[00:14.110] So my song for you this evening,
[00:17.048] it's not to make you sad
[00:19.906] Not for adding to the sorrows
[00:22.482] of this troubled northern land
[00:25.801] But lately I've been thinking
[00:28.111] and it just won't leave my mind
[00:31.496] To tell you of two friends one time
[00:33.864] They were both good friends of mine
[00:37.096] Alan Bell from Banagh,
[00:39.351] he lived just across the fields
[00:42.442] A great man for the music,
[00:44.878] and the dancing and the reels
[00:47.816] O'Malley came from South Armagh
[00:50.457] to court young Alice fair
[00:53.228] And we often meet on the Ryan Road
[00:55.962] and laughter filled the air
[00:59.990] There were roses, roses
[01:05.339] There were roses
[01:09.906] And the tears of the people ran together
[01:28.774] Though Alan he was Protestant
[01:31.216] and Sean was Catholic born
[01:33.975] It never made a difference,
[01:36.462] for the friendship it was strong
[01:39.284] And sometimes in the evening
[01:41.858] when we heard the sound of drums
[01:44.781] We said it won't divide us,
[01:47.125] we will always be the one
[01:50.201] For the ground our fathers plowed in,
[01:52.812] the soil it is the same
[01:55.580] And the places where we say our prayers
[01:58.401] have just got different names
[02:01.413] We talked about the friends who'd died
[02:03.670] and we hoped there'd be no more
[02:06.580] It's little then we realized the tragedy in store
[02:13.358] There were roses, roses
[02:19.018] There were roses
[02:23.254] And the tears of the people ran together
[02:41.547] It was on a Sunday morning
[02:44.237] when the awful news came round
[02:47.062] Another killing has been done
[02:49.621] just outside Newry Town
[02:52.318] We knew that Alan danced up there,
[02:55.146] we knew he liked the band
[02:57.983] But when we heard that he was dead
[03:00.603] we just could not understand
[03:03.854] We gathered at the graveside
[03:05.935] on that cold and rainy day
[03:08.622] And the minister he closed his eyes
[03:11.276] and he prayed for no revenge
[03:14.139] And all the ones who knew him
[03:16.462] from along the Ryan Road
[03:19.243] Then bowed our heads and said a prayer
[03:22.055] for the resting of his soul
[03:26.292] There were roses, roses
[03:31.409] There were roses
[03:36.678] And the tears of the people ran together
[03:54.706] Well fear it filled the countryside
[03:57.004] there was fear in every home
[03:59.818] When the car of death came
[04:01.674] prowling round the lonely Ryan Road
[04:05.354] A Catholic would be killed tonight
[04:07.666] to even up the score
[04:10.362] Oh Christ it's young O'Malley
[04:12.964] that they've taken from the door
[04:16.315] Alan was my friend! he cried,
[04:18.661] he begged them with his fear
[04:21.354] But centuries of hatred
[04:23.839] have ears that can not hear
[04:26.632] An eye for an eye, was all that filled their minds
[04:31.941] And another eye for another eye
[04:34.772] till everyone is blind
[04:38.826] There were roses, roses
[04:44.197] There were roses
[04:48.510] And the tears of the people ran together
[05:06.751] So my song for you this evening,
[05:09.550] it's not to make you sad
[05:12.296] Not for adding to the sorrows
[05:14.897] of this troubled northern land
[05:17.684] But lately I've been thinking
[05:20.009] and it just won't leave my mind
[05:23.022] To tell you of two friends one time
[05:25.440] They were both good friends of mine
[05:29.599] I don't know where the moral is
[05:32.129] or where this song should end
[05:34.807] But I wonder just how many wars
[05:37.557] are fought between good friends
[05:40.198] And those who give the orders
[05:42.758] are not the ones to die
[05:45.717] It's Bell and O'Malley
[05:48.104] and the likes of you and I
[05:52.262] There were roses, roses
[05:57.696] There were roses
[06:01.904] And the tears of a people ran together
[06:09.754] There were roses, roses
[06:15.446] There were roses....

So my song for you this evening,
it's not to make you sad
Not for adding to the sorrows
of this troubled northern land
But lately I've been thinking
and it just won't leave my mind
To tell you of two friends one time
They were both good friends of mine
Alan Bell from Banagh,
he lived just across the fields
A great man for the music,
and the dancing and the reels
O'Malley came from South Armagh
to court young Alice fair
And we often meet on the Ryan Road
and laughter filled the air
There were roses, roses
There were roses
And the tears of the people ran together
Though Alan he was Protestant
and Sean was Catholic born
It never made a difference,
for the friendship it was strong
And sometimes in the evening
when we heard the sound of drums
We said it won't divide us,
we will always be the one
For the ground our fathers plowed in,
the soil it is the same
And the places where we say our prayers
have just got different names
We talked about the friends who'd died
and we hoped there'd be no more
It's little then we realized the tragedy in store
There were roses, roses
There were roses
And the tears of the people ran together
It was on a Sunday morning
when the awful news came round
Another killing has been done
just outside Newry Town
We knew that Alan danced up there,
we knew he liked the band
But when we heard that he was dead
we just could not understand
We gathered at the graveside
on that cold and rainy day
And the minister he closed his eyes
and he prayed for no revenge
And all the ones who knew him
from along the Ryan Road
Then bowed our heads and said a prayer
for the resting of his soul
There were roses, roses
There were roses
And the tears of the people ran together
Well fear it filled the countryside
there was fear in every home
When the car of death came
prowling round the lonely Ryan Road
A Catholic would be killed tonight
to even up the score
Oh Christ it's young O'Malley
that they've taken from the door
Alan was my friend! he cried,
he begged them with his fear
But centuries of hatred
have ears that can not hear
An eye for an eye, was all that filled their minds
And another eye for another eye
till everyone is blind
There were roses, roses
There were roses
And the tears of the people ran together
So my song for you this evening,
it's not to make you sad
Not for adding to the sorrows
of this troubled northern land
But lately I've been thinking
and it just won't leave my mind
To tell you of two friends one time
They were both good friends of mine
I don't know where the moral is
or where this song should end
But I wonder just how many wars
are fought between good friends
And those who give the orders
are not the ones to die
It's Bell and O'Malley
and the likes of you and I
There were roses, roses
There were roses
And the tears of a people ran together
There were roses, roses
There were roses....