Each Dollar A Bullet

Oh it must be so romantic When the fighting's over there And they're passing round the shamrock And you're all filled up with tears "For the love of dear old Ireland" That you've never even seen You throw in twenty dollars And sing "Wearing of the Green [Chorus:] Each dollar a bullet Each victim someone's son And Americans kill Irishmen As surely As if they fired the gun Now you've never stood on Belfast's streets And heard the bombs explode Or hid beneath the blankets When there's riots down the road No you've never had your best friend die Or lost a favorite son But you'll stand there and tell us Just what we're doing wrong Each false word a bullet Each victim someone's son And Englishmen kill Irishmen As surely As if they fired the gun From the minute that you're born you're told To hate the other side "They're not like us, they're not the same We know because we're right" But can't you see we're all the same There is no right and wrong Why can't we stop and realize Just what we're doing wrong We've hated too much too long Each old lie a bullet Each victim someone's son And Irishmen kill Irishmen As surely As if they fired the gun How can you convince yourself That what you do is right? When people are dying there Night after night Don't you ever wonder Why it still goes on? The hopes and fears and all the tears Are buried in your ground Buried in your ground Each rumour a bullet Each victim someone's son And careless talk kills Irishmen As surely As if words fired the gun Well it's lasted for so long now And so many have died It's such a part of my own life Yet it leaves me mystified How a people so intelligent Friendly, kind and brave Can throw themselves so willingly Into an open grave Each new day a bullet Each victim someone's son And ignorance kills Irishmen As surely As if we fired the gun --- Each Dollar A Bullet - Stiff Little Fingers