The Ballad of the ABC.
The barricades are cold and dark,
A silence fills the street.
The people stir, the cobbles slick
With blood beneath their feet.
They hide their faces, shield their eyes;
Their pain and shame are clear.
They did not stay; they did not help
When night was turned to fear.
The sounds of battle filled the air
As revolution raged,
Though many there could not recall
Why first the war was waged.
These men and women fought for peace.
They sang a rousing song.
Yet failed to mention in their words:
To fight is always wrong.
Nothing comes of war but
Devastation, loss and death.
This was remembered far too late
As they drew their final breath.
The gunfire rang within their ears;
They fell amidst the hate.
Upon the barricade they died,
Lost to the hands of fate.
An urchin girl the first to fall,
A sacrifice to love.
Held by the one she had long adored
As she left for the Land Above.
The next to o a brave young boy;
A tragedy, a shame.
He died to give his friends a chance;
His memory fans the flame.
The battle then becomes a blur.
The death toll starts to mount.
Men are falling left and right;
It's far too quick to count.
One man with daisies in his hair;
Another bald as sin;
The bullets fall like hail
And make one God-almighty din.
Inside a cafe, small and dank,
Three friends lie side by side.
Those who killed them do not care;
They leave them where they died.
The local drunkard lies in peace
Beneath the window ledge.
He stayed beside his dearest friend;
It was his final pledge.
The man who led this fated charge,
He was the last to fall.
Refused to let the banner drop
And now he's lost it all.
His coat of red is stained with blood;
His heart will beat no more.
He follows in the footsteps
Of the men who fell before.
Now pious man, and righteous man,
Strong, drunk, and child; all sleep.
Not knowing they will never wake
From ceaseless slumber deep.
For they can see a glorious dawn;
They see their dreams take wing.
Now in the garden of The Lord...
Do you hear the people sing?