Only Our Rivers Run Free - The Davitts

When apples still grow in November

When Blossoms still bloom from each tree

When leaves are still green in December

It’s then that our land will be free

I wander her hills and her valleys

And still through my sorrow I see

A land that has never known freedom

And only her rivers run free

I drink to the death of her manhood

Those men who’d rather have died

Than to live in the cold chains of bondage

To bring back their rights were denied

Oh where are you now when we need you

What burns where the flame used to be

Are ye gone like the snows of last winter

And will only our rivers run free?

How sweet is life but we’re crying

How mellow the wine but it’s dry

How fragrant the rose but it’s dying

How gentle the breeze but it sighs

What good is in youth when it’s aging

What joy is in eyes that can’t see

When there’s sorrow in sunshine and flowers

And still only our rivers run free