There were roses-Tommy Sands-Lyrics+Chords

Tommy Sands , the writer of this great song recalls an incident

in 1974 when a Protestand friend was killed in an act of mindless violence.

When the local protestand looked for a catholic to kill in retaliation

they ironically chose a man who had been good friends

with the original victim.

It took Tommy almost ten years to write this song because he

had been so close to the events,The song sums up war.

Just look at what George Bush said about Iraq,We

Have nothing against the Iraqui people,it's Sadam.

Two weeks later 100,000 Iraqui people were dead.

Anyway, a great song for your set list, always goes down well at sessions.

My[G] song for you this evening is[C] not to[D] make you [G]sad,

Nor for[Em] adding to the[D] sorrows of our[C] troubled northern[G] land,

But[G] lately I've been thinking,and it[C] just wont[D] leave my[G] mind,

To[Em] tell you of two[D] friends of mine,who were[C] both good friends of[G] mine.

[2]

Alan Bell from Banagh ,he lived just across the fields,

A great man for the nusic and the dancing and the reels,

O'Mally came from South Armagh,to court young Alice fair,

And we'd often meet on the Ryan Roan and the laughter filled the air.

[Chorus]

[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[C] ran to[G]geather.

[3]

Though Alan he was Protesant,and Sean was Catholic born,

It never made much difference,for the friendship it was strong,

And sometimes in the evenings when we heard the sound of drums,

We said it wont devide us we always will be one.

[4]

For the ground our fathers plowed in the soil is just the same,

And the places that we say our prayers have just got different names,

We talked about the friends who died and we hoped there'd be no more,

It's little then we relized the tragedy in store.

[5]

It was on a Sunday morning when the awful news came round,

Another killing had 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 could not understand.

[6]

We gathered at the grave side on that cold and rainy day,

And the minister he closed his eyes and prayed for no revenge,

And all of us who knew him from along the Ryan Road,

We bowed our heads and we said a prayer for the resting of his soul.

[7]

Now fear it filled the country side,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 God it's young O'Mally,that they've taken from the door.

[7]

Alan was my friend he cried,he begged them with his fear,

But centures of hatred have ears that cannot hear,

An eye for an eye was all that filled their mind,

And an eye for another eye till everyone is blind.

[8]

I dont know where the moral is or where the song should end,

But I wonder just how many wars are fought between good friends,

And thoes that give the orders are not the ones to die,

It's Bell and O'Mally and the likes of you and I.

Tommy Sands, Co Down's singer, songwriter and social activist has achieved something akin to legendary status in his own lifetime.
From the pioneering days with the highly influential Sands Family, bringing Irish Music from New York's Carnegie Hall to Moscow's Olympic Stadium, he has developed into one of the most powerful songwriters and enchanting solo performers in Ireland today.
His songwriting, which draws the admiration of Nobel Poet Laureate Seamus Heaney and father of folk music Pete Seeger, prompts respected US magazine "Sing Out" to regard him as "the most powerful songwriter in Ireland, if not the rest of the world".
His songs, like There were Roses, and Daughters and Sons, which have been recorded by Joan Baez, Kathy Matthea, Dolores Keane, Sean Keane, Frank Patterson, Dick Gaughan, The Dubliners and many others have been translated into many languages and are currently included in the English language syllabus in German secondary schools.
Although constantly performing on stages all around the world he prides in taking his music down from the lights and into the darker corners of society. One of his current projects, teaching underprivledged prisoners in Reno, Nevada to write their own song with which to defend themselves in court is currently creating a wide spread stir in the world of community art in the United States. Back home in Northern Ireland he has just completed a CD written with Protestant and Catholic schoolchildren about their own areas, in towns and villages around Northern Ireland. During the Good Friday Agreement Talks, his impromptu performance with a group of children and Lambeg drummers was described by Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon as "a defining moment in the Peace Process".
Mary McAleese, who was cast in a romantic role with Tommy in a local play just before she became President of the Irish Republic has kept up the friendship and periodically calls upon him for advice on cultural events.
Sands, "It would take a mean bastard to dislike him", according to Eamon McCann in Hot Press, has a way with words to charm and disarm and coax a chorus out of the tightest jawed audience.
In May 2002 Tommy Sands received an honourary doctorate of Letters from The University of Nevada for his outstanding work as musician and ambassador for peace and understanding and, May 18th was pronounced "Tommy Sands Day in Reno".For more info. go to my links section for a link to Tommy's site

There Were Roses, lyrics and chords

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