Messines Ridge

Off to war, young eager men
Didn't realise, it would be hell
For a cause, two sets of men
Some for Ulster, some for air

For their cause they went inspired
For their cause they went inspired

In the trenches, all muddy brown
Shot if stood, drowned when down
Mass casualties, orange and green
Such terrible carnage, in nineteen sixteen

Fought for their mates not king or green
Fought for their mates not king or green

After their losses, spent a year together
On the line, broke bread with each another
If fighting ended, that strange oul' time
You never know, it could've been fine

Who'd thought they'd become friends on the line
Who'd thought they'd become friends on the line

At Messines Ridge, politics aside
Went into battle, side by side
Barbed wire, craters, exploding shells
As brothers in arms, they entered hell

Together they fought and together they fell
Together they fought and together they fell

Nationalist Redmond, shot and bleak
Trying to save him, a Unionist Meeke
Friendships forged from either side
As brothers in arms, they fought and died

Who'd thought they'd try to save each other's lives
Who'd thought they'd try to save each other's lives

Sent back home, when guns fell silent
The sixteenth Irish, to a land still violent
Wounded, scarred and ostracised
By their land, they were despised

Who'd thought they'd return chastised
Who'd thought they'd return chastised

Back in Ulster, we still remember
Their great sacrifice, every November
Fought and died, as one together
Brave young men, no white feather

Who'd thought they could bond together
Who'd thought they could bond together