The Other Side

Where John paints in Caribbean colours
And Tyrone boys dream of loving on the strand
Flowers heaped in gesture on the courthouse steps in Kerry
And we trampled on the outstretched hand

Roman posters on the wall outside the graveyard
"No Divorce" is all they say
I saw a little sister of mercy
Invoke the wrath of God on polling day

Oh, the island
Where Tyrone boys dream of loving on the strand
Oh, the island
Where we trampled on the outstretched hand

The lady sends squaddies on the water
Geordie, don't be afraid to die
In blackened face he dreams of his darling, bairns and hinny
On the watchtower overlooking Aughnacloy

In Long Kesh the Tyrone boys are dreaming
Of making love upon the strand some day
On the news a mid-atlantic accent
Bullet has taken Julie Livingstone away

Oh, the island
Where Tyrone boys dream of loving on the strand
Oh, the island
Where we trampled on the outstretched hand

When the king came down to see his people
He took a soldier by the hand
With his eyes averted from the Gloucester diamond
To comfort those who occupy the land

High above the clouds a promised heaven
On the street, a confused and homeless child
While men in black declare a social order
Frightened women sail to the other side

Oh, the island
Where Tyrone boys dreamed of loving on the strand
Oh, the island
Where we trampled on the outstretched hand

All the young ones are leaving the island
Out the door, down the steps around the side
Unwanted they file through departure lounges
Like deportees dispersing far and wide

To the distance sounds of cricket in Cloughjordan
And the gentle clack of croquet on the lawn
Our children shackled by illegal status
Hold their heads down behind the Brooklyn wall

Oh, the island
Where Tyrone boys dreamed of loving on the strand
Oh, the island
Where we trampled on the outstretched hand