Lament for the last battle honour
of the Black Watch
Tune: Jamie Foyers (Scots traditional song)
"This may be the last attack for the First Battalion the Black Watch.
Let us make sure it . . . is one that we can be proud of."
– Lt Col James Cowan, commanding officer
Far distant, far distant the Black Watch has gone
To a land where the deserts are burnt by the sun.
They have no real quarrel with the people of Iraq,
And too many soldiers will never come back.
They went to Iraq to fight for the oil.
When I heard they had gone, it fair made my blood boil,
When I heard they had gone for this Yankee war:
Too many have died but none knows what for.
By the river Euphrates they raided the homes,
They scared women and children with explosions and bombs.
They hooded the menfolk and led them away
And handed them over to the Yankees that day.
This last battle honour we shall never forget.
All your military history, we remember it yet.
Some we recall with praise, some remember in shame,
For every gunshot has been fired in our name.
Braw, braw was the skirl of the pipes on that morn
And loud was the weeping that greeted the dawn.
Black, Black is your name and blacker the deed,
When the Yankees said jump and you followed their lead.
It is working class soldiers who go out to kill
Foreign working class people who have done us no ill.
To long for the oilmen and bankers we’ve fought
Too cheap is the price for which we’ve been bought.
Back home many battles remain to be fought
As we learn from the lessons that history has taught.
Come home Scottish soldier and free up your land
And fight no more wars under Yankee command.
Far distant, far distant the Black Watch has gone
To a land where the deserts are burnt by the sun.
They have no real quarrel with the people of Iraq,
And too many soldiers will never come back.
2004-11-26
