A Story As Told By Dan

I know this ageing Irish fellow Dan His mother's father fought against the Black and Tan By all accounts he was a noble man And he is one still honoured by his clan. In a shoot out with the Crown Forces he died Caught in the open and with nowhere to hide And though outnumbered thirty five to one He would not surrender nor did he try to run. His mother told him how her mother was in tears And for her dead husband she grieved for years But against the Tans she did not hold a grudge She said that she was not to be their judge. His mother knew life under British Rule On the road she often passed the Tans on her way to and from school But they never harmed her in any way And some of them even smiled and said good day. His mother said the tans were just young men Fighting in a war they were not meant to win And in ambushes around the countryside Many soldier sons of British mothers died. And when the British left Ireland the civil war began And Irish man fought against Irish man And even in her twilight years his mother did recall That it was the bitterest battle of them all. I know this ageing Irish fellow Dan His grand dad fought against the Black and Tan And he died like a true soldier under fire And in his death the bards to song he did inspire.