At the age of sixteen years, well he left his home in tears,
His mother watched as he walked out the door,
And as his family bade farewell, and his neighbours wished him well,
From the road his dad and brother took before.
And as the ship set sail for France, he gave Belfast one more glance,
As the ship began to move away from shore,
He could see there on the land, the proud YCV flute band,
And he could hear them play The Sash My Father Wore.
Oh, from the Shankill Road they went,
Oh, thier young lives to be spent,
On the first day of July so long Ago,
And for the deeds that they have done,
And the glories they have won,
We remember as long as the bright red poppy's grow.
When they charged fom Thiepval wood,
They were in a fighting mood,
As they made thier way across the fields of fire,
And as they stormed the great redoubt,
You could hear those brave men shout,
To have them lie beneath the twisted shells and wire
Oh, from the Shankill Road they went,
Oh, thier young lives to be spent,
On the first day of July so long Ago,
And for the deeds that they have done,
And the glories they have won,
We remember as long as the bright red poppy's grow.
As the ship set sail for France, he gave Belfast one more glance,
As the ship began to move away from shore,
He could see there on the land, the proud YCV flute band,
And he could hear them play The Sash My Father Wore.
And from the Shankill Road they went,
Oh, thier young lives to be spent,
On the first day of July so long Ago,
And for the deeds that they have done,
And the glories they have won,
We remember as long as the bright red poppy's grow.
Yet from the Shankill Road they went,
Oh, thier young lives to be spent,
On the first day of July so long Ago,
And for the deeds that they have done,
And the glories they have won,
We remember as long as the bright red poppy's grow.
We remember as long as the bright red poppy's grow.
We remember as long as the bright red poppy's grow.