To Youth (My Sweet Roisin Dubh) lyrics

[Verse 1]
Tell me, why must a man be of service
To his lord and the god seldom high?
From the grave sprang the name of our fathers
But there's no glint in a dead man's eye

[Verse 2]
Tell me, why are our fields filled with hunger
And fruitless the crop, bitter soil?
So I say my farewell to a nation
As the leaf waves goodbye to its sun

[Chorus]
So it's to youth I sing you this story
And it's of youth I sing it now
Like the train that derailed without warning
I must leave what I left far behind

[Bridge]
So goodbye, sweet Róisín Dubh
I say goodbye

[Verse 3]
Tell me, why must our peace be this puzzle
That fractures the land, splinters war
The last nails cite the shame in our coffin
But in the end we must all die alone
[Chorus]
So it's to youth, I sing you this story
And it's of youth, I sing it now
Like the train that derailed without warning
Some must leave what they left far behind

[Bridge]
So goodbye, sweet Róisín Dubh
I say goodbye

[Middle Eight]
And the bark fell from tree to the ground that now bleed
On the anguish that never learned to shout
With the clash of the drum, we'll surrender the gun
And on this sadness we shall no longer speak
Until tank and the bomb are but all forgotten songs
That's when I and we will sing again
So goodbye to my love, my sweet Róisín Dubh
Goodbye now until we meet again

[Verse 4]
Tell me, why must our grief still be grieving
For a language that never spoke its loss?
But this tongue split with fire will tear down the barbed wire
Rip the belly from the waxy ghost
[Chorus]
So it's to youth I sing you this story
And it's of youth I sing it now
Like the train that derailed without warning
We must leave what we left far behind

[Chorus]
So it's to youth I sing you this story
And it's of youth I sing it now
Like the train that derailed without warning
We must leave what we left far behind

[Final Bridge]
So goodbye, sweet Róisín Dubh
I say goodbye
So goodbye, sweet Róisín Dubh
I say goodbye
Until we meet again
Until we meet again
Until we meet again

[Outro]
She arrives to beautify
But slumber now must rest
Oh my Róisín Dubh, I'll forever love
The youth you once possessed