To March They Had No Need
Not all Protestants have a need for Orangism, though there is a face that is not as bigoted as what is presented in the years of late. The men of 1798 had no need to parade to prove they were Protestant, or to oppress their fellow Irish for being Catholic.
To march they had no need to state
That they were Protestant and they were great
The Glorious Revolution to commemorate
They sought mere religious freedom
And the thought as much of William as any who drums bate
And they walked their own road to Gods kingdom.
In their time they were not allowed
For they were of the wrong crowd
Though against Rome they too had vowed
They were not of the Church of the King
They lived and fought with Papishers unbowed
And they lost of their faith nothing.
But, alas, after the Union was passed through
Passed too did our solidarity, we rue
And bigots on our side fanned the flames that grew
To mature into this centuries hate
As enemies each other we knew
And the hatred was great.
And so on Twalfth they marched, and do still
And will march on and on until
Of hatred they have got their fill
Or both sides meet to talk
And like the men of 98 their hatred kill
So there’s no need the Queens Highway to walk.
Then both sides Orange and Green
Can commemorate those who at the Boyne had been
And over the world it can be seen
As in 1798
We healed the wound in hatred’s spleen
To make a nation great.
