Songtext von American Wake

In the year of forty seven a new tradition came home From necessity came a brand new name For the hunger that stalked their bones They got their affairs in order And gathered their friends around What was left of the food and the whiskey too Was rounded up from this town Well they listened to the lies and the stories A last chance to look them in the eye Like a walking corpse behind the horse And you didn't even get to die An American Wake was all they had They never went back to their native land They left to find a place to stand With everything they could take But first they had to face their American Wake Well the Brits all said it was coming The famine was willed by God The Tory crimes of the London Times Sent many to die in the fog Now some gave gifts for the journey Some only had tears and a prayer An eleven week ride when they caught the tide If they even lived halfway there An American Wake was all they had They never went back to their native land They left to find a place to stand With everything they could take First they had to face their American Wake Then a jig was danced, a one last chance For the father to face the son As the keener wailed they could count the sails In the rising of the sun There were blessings and toasts, they buried old ghosts And they drank to the now and then As the minutes passed by they tried to deny They would never see Ireland again An American Wake was all they had They never went back to their native land They left to find a place to stand With everything they could take First they had to face their American Wake