For it's here I am an Orangeman, just come across the sea
For singing and for dancing, I hope that I'll please thee,
I can sing and dance with any man, as I did in days of yore.
And its on the twelfth I long to wear the Sash My Father wore.
Chorus
It is old but it is beautiful and It's colours they are fine.
It was worn at Derry, Aughrim, Enniskillen and the Boyne.
My Father wore it as a youth in bygone days of yore
And its on the twelfth I long to wear, The Sash my Father Wore.
For it's now I'm going to leave you, good luck to you I'll say,
And when I'm on the ocean deep, I hope for me you'll pray
I'm going to my native land, to a place they call Dromore,
Where on the twelfth I long to wear the Sash my Father Wore.
Chorus
Whenever I come back again my brethren here to see ,
I hope to find old Orange style, they will always welcome me.
My favourite tune's 'Boyne Water', but to please me more and more,
And make my Orange Heart full glad with the Sash my Father wore.
Chorus
I'm a young Ulster Soldier from north of the border
I'm one of the U.D.R 4
They charged me murder just me and no other
Now I am a lifer called Neil Latimer
They locked me away where the sweet light of day
Half reaches my Prison Cell door
But no matter how long i'll fight on and on
As one of the U.D.R 4
Chorus:
Free Free I just want to be
As free as the wind and the rain and the sea
Free Free I just want to be
Out where the rivers run free
So strike up the drum let me shoulder my gun
Let the flutes play the Sash that my dear father wore
Open the gates let me rejoin my mates
As one of the U.D.R 4
Together again we'll fight as young men
As our forefathers did in the great days of yore
And the IRA scum over the border will run
In the charge of the U.D.R. 4
(chorus)
So strike up the drum let me shoulder my gun
Let the flutes play the Sash that my dear father wore
Open the gates let me rejoin my mates
As one of the U.D.R 4
Together again we'll fight as young men
As our forefathers did in the great days of yore
And the IRA scum over the border will run
In the charge of the U.D.R. 4
Oh Daddy whats that uniform in the wardrobe over there?
Has it any history or medals for to bear?
Has it seen the battlefields like bygone days of yore?
Oh Daddy is that the Uniform that you so proudly wore?
Chorus:
See it's buckles shining bright from the shoulder to the waist
I also see three letters emblazoned on it's breast
The U it stands for Ulster
The V for Volunteer
The F it stands for the Force
That fights and never fears
My memory it strays back again to nineteen forty one
When Ulsters shores were threatened
By the Jackboot of the Hun
And Ulsters people rallied round
They knew they need not fear
For the knew God was on their side
And the Ulster Volunteers
(chorus)
So son please take my Uniform and go and fight the foe
And fight just like your father did so many years ago
For Ulster it is calling and we must never fear
So take my Gun my only son and join the Volunteers
(chorus)
I'll remember I'll try, it was nearly July
As we walked down the road I'll remember the year
There was me, there was Sam, Jimmy Sloan and McCann
Would enlist in the Volunteers
And the man says to me, 'Boy I hope you will see
'And remember this day all the things you've been taught'
It could be now or then, but we'll fight once again
For the things that our grandfathers fought.
And I swore like the rest to the badge on my breast
To the gun in my hand I will fight for my land
With my hand held high I took that vow
And I joined Number One Platoon
And deep down inside my heart fills with pride
I remember the men who have fought through the years
I could name quite a few but to me and to you
They were Ulster Volunteers
And to all here today just some words I must say
To remember this day
All the things you've been taught
It could be now or then, but we'll fight once again
For the things that our grandfathers fought.
And I swore like the rest to the badge on my breast
To the gun in my hand I will fight for my land
With my hand held high I took that vow
And I joined Number One Platoon.
When I was eighteen years of age
In Carson's army I engaged
To fight for Ulster against home rule
A mauser rifle was my tool
On Covenant day my first parade
When over half a million promised aid
We go to fight the enemy now
So we landed fifty thousand guns at Larne
We go to fight the enemy now
So we landed fifty thousand guns at Larne
That April night I'll never forget
Dispersing guns to face the threat
Throught the length of our beloved land
The die was cast, we made our stand
But another foe was before us now
Home rule was dead beneath the plough
When across to France our divisions sailed
Britain called we would not fail
When across to France our divisions sailed
Britain called we would not fail
We were Gunrunners, Gunrunners
So the storys told and its understood
Of a charge that morning, Thiepval Wood
When Ulsters flower their lives did give
So that we at home could in freedom live
Well alas I fell on the Sommes great shore
But not alone there were thousands more
From every street, town and dale
A father, son or brother fell
From every street, town or dale
A father, son or brother fell
They were Gunrunners, Gunrunners. Yes Gunrunners
'Twas a cold and grey November morn, as I left Belfast town
In a cold and lonely prison van, for Long Kesh I was bound
'Cause my spirit was unbroken and my heart was still un-found
Why, I knew that i'd soon be with the men behind the wire
When the judge had passed my sentence and the warder took me down
I cried out no surrender bless the red hand and the crown
But grant me just one favour, that is my one desire
Please let me serve my sentence with the men behind the wire
There were many things so strange to me and many more I knew
His only cry was Loyalty to the old red white and blue
And the love for dear old Ulster, Even in the darkest hour
He'd shine with them these loyal men, the men behind the wire
And when this war is over and our victory is won
Let us not forget the sacrifice made by these loyal sons
They were staunch and true for me and you so lift your glasses higher
Where would we have been without them, the men behind the wire