The Volunteer’s Beret by AOH County Tyrone President Gerry McGeough
Posted by Jim on May 25, 2016
The Volunteer’s Beret
By Gerry McGeough
–
That piece of cloth is sacred
Hold it gently in your hand
It’s a symbol of our struggle
Of a gallant, noble stand
It was worn on the hillsides
And the rocky glens below
In every street and alley
And bushy green hedge row
It was placed on many a coffin
Of some poor old mother’s son
Or a father’s only daughter
Who fell at home or on the run
It is frayed and it is singed
And it smells of sour cordite
It is shredded at the sides
For it saw action in the fight
Let no coward’s eye behold it
Let no traitor know it’s there
Keep it hidden in the shadows
Where none can stand and stare
Show it only in the twilight
At the setting of the sun
And only to those brave young hearts
Who know what must be done
It is proud and still defiant
Unreconstructed
Full of rage
Just biding time in peace…for now
At the edges of the stage
Clutch it never to your bosom
Let no tear upon it fall
It is not a cloth of sorrow
Nor defeat
No, not at all
It will rise again in freedom
Then we’ll put it on display
That old symbol of our struggle
The Volunteer’s Beret.
Hold it gently in your hand
It’s a symbol of our struggle
Of a gallant, noble stand
It was worn on the hillsides
And the rocky glens below
In every street and alley
And bushy green hedge row
It was placed on many a coffin
Of some poor old mother’s son
Or a father’s only daughter
Who fell at home or on the run
It is frayed and it is singed
And it smells of sour cordite
It is shredded at the sides
For it saw action in the fight
Let no coward’s eye behold it
Let no traitor know it’s there
Keep it hidden in the shadows
Where none can stand and stare
Show it only in the twilight
At the setting of the sun
And only to those brave young hearts
Who know what must be done
It is proud and still defiant
Unreconstructed
Full of rage
Just biding time in peace…for now
At the edges of the stage
Clutch it never to your bosom
Let no tear upon it fall
It is not a cloth of sorrow
Nor defeat
No, not at all
It will rise again in freedom
Then we’ll put it on display
That old symbol of our struggle
The Volunteer’s Beret.