The highlands and the lowlands

Are the roots my father knows

The holidays at Oban

And the towns around Montrose

But even as he sleeps

They're loading bombs into the hills

And the waters in the lochs

Can run deep but never still



I've thought of having children

But I've gone and changed my mind

It's hard enough to watch the news

Let alone explain it to a child

To cast your eye 'cross nature

Over fields of rape and corn

And tell him without flinching

Not to fear where he's been born



Then someone sat me down last night

And I heard Caruso sing

He's almost as good as Presley

And if I only do one thing

I'll sing songs to my father

I'll sing songs to my child

It's time to hold your loved ones

While the chains are loosed and the world

Runs wild



And even as we speak

They're loading bombs onto a white train

How can we afford to ever sleep

So sound again