E is for Enniskillen

E is for Enniskillen

People often think you are clever and talented if you’re a songwriter.  But that’s not the case.  I think songs have already been written and are just floating around in the ether, waiting for someone to pluck them from the sky.  And when something just blows your mind, or seriously affects you, the songs come very quickly and easily.  I remember the ‘Poppy Day’ bombing in 1987.  The things that really struck me were the final words of one of the victims, Marie, and the amazing heart of her father who was able to forgive.  The other thing was the poignancy of the fact that 11 people died at the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month.  This song came very quickly indeed.

Cold November, the sky is touched with grey

Enniskillen on her Remembrance Day

The dawn seems so peaceful

In this land scarred by war

The soldiers in the graveyard

Cry ‘what did we die for?’

So what did they die for?

A breeze gently touches the street

Where later a village will meet – to remember

Oh, Enniskillen, the world cries with you

Footsteps echo in the chilly Irish air

The sounds of morning are waking everywhere

The children are laughing, together in their play

For them it’s just another pleasant day

Another Sunday

A broom sweeps the conflict aside

Today wear your poppy with pride.  Lest we forget.

Oh, Enniskillen, the world cries with you.

They were almost ready, a crowd had gathered there

Then, with no warning, an explosion pierced the air

And the soldiers cried ‘Why?’

As the dust choked the sky

‘Two wars of death and pain’

‘Did we all die in vain?’

Did they all die in vain?

‘Marie, are you alright’ her Father cries

‘Oh Daddy, I love you’ she sighs, as she fades away

Oh, Enniskillen, the world cries with you.

The eleventh hour.  The eleventh day.

The eleventh month. The eleventh life slips away.