Let the People Sing

For those who are in love There's a song that's warm and tender For those who are oppressed In song you can protest So liberate your mind And give your soul expression Open up your hearts I'll sing for you this song Let the people sing Their stories and their songs And the music of their native land Their lullabies and battle cries And songs of hope and joy Join us hand in hand All across this ancient land Throughout the test of time It was music that kept their spirits free Those songs of yours and of mine It was back in ancient times The bard would tell his stories Of the heroes, of the villain Of the chieftains in the glen Through Elizabethian time And Cromwellian war and fury Put our pipers to the sword, Killed our harpers and our bards. Let the people sing their stories and their songs And the music of their native land Their lullabies and battlecries and songs of hope and joy So join us hand in hand All across this ancient land Throughout the test of time It was music that kept their spirits free Those songs of yours and of mine Ireland, land of song, Your music lives forever In its valleys, in its mountains, In its hills and in its glens. Our music did survive Through famine and oppression. To the generations gone, I'll sing for you this song.