Lough Foyle

Williamson Robin

Words RW, music trad Irish: NancyÂ's Whiskey 1978 
At age 14 they gave us training 
To number off by threes and give salutes 
To clean and fire the Lee and Enfield 
To answer smartly sir and shine the boots 
Me and all the other poor bastards 
Glengarry bonnets on at bugle call 
I never thought I looked good in khaki 
It hurt the pride as well as it scratched the balls 
I volunteered for the signals section 
To work the radios was a skivers joy 
and on manoeuvres IÂ'd twist the orders 
and put confusion on the soldier boys 
To Northern Ireland for summer training 
Near to Lough Foyle not far from Derry town 
To get the feel of the regular army 
and generally act the bloody clown 
To eat melodious beans and gravy 
To sleep on old grey blankets stiff with stains 
and on the carsy in the morning 
To squat in rows like cows with labor pains 
Me and some lads broke out one evening 
Climbed through the wire and down the lough beside 
We spied some fishers in their long boats 
Casting nets out on the silvery tide 
They soon pulled shoreward and we got to talking 
To row us over the water theyÂ'd agree 
They hoist us dry shod in the boat beside them 
And way across the watery waves went we 
Cross to Greencastle in Southern Ireland 
A street of cottages set end to end 
A couple of churches and several boozers 
Where we fell to drinking with our Irish friends 
The best black porter, strong beer and whiskey 
We had a bevy there as drunk as lords 
and all skylarking and cutting capers 
Till that old church clock it chimed for four 
The fishers rowed us back over the water 
and went to fish upon the morning rise 
But we were drunk and devoid of caution 
and we were halted climbing back through the wire 
and me and the lads were all defaulted 
and straight away upon fatigues were led 
To double at our every duty 
With our rifles held obove our heads 
Bur my good luck was not all departed 
I got infected in both the ears 
Some kind of hole in the two of my ear drums 
Till not a single order I could hear 
I sadly smiled and looked downhearted 
While they could curse and shout and rage 
and thatÂ's the way I would end a story 
When I was 14 years of age
	
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