THE ACCRINGTON PALS
(Mike Harding)

Mike Harding - 1986


Smoky town where they were born
Down in the valley, smoky little streets
They were pals from childhood days
Climbing trees and running through the fields
And they all played together through the turning of the years
Sharing their laughter, sharing all their fears
The Seasons saw them growing and
Seasons passing turned them round
With the changing, changing, changing years
Accrington Pals

Schooldays' end, the lads all went
To work, some spinning, some weaving in the sheds
On the land or down the pit
Working hard to earn their daily bread.
And they all went walking up old Pendle Hill
On Sundays the larks sang high above the dales
Little Willie Riley played his mandolin and sang
They were laughing, they were smilingsinging then
Accrington Pals

1916, came the call
"We need more lads to battle with the Hun
Lads of Lancashire, heed the call
With God on our side, the battle will soon be won"
So they all came marching to the beating of the drums
Down from the fields and factories they come
Smiling at the girls who
Came to see them on their way
They were marching, marching, marching away
Accrington Pals

Blue sky shining on a perfect day
A lark was singing, high above the Somme
Brothers, pals and fathers lay
Watching that sweet bird sing in the quiet of the dawn
And they all went walking out towards the howling guns
Talking and laughing, calmly walking on
Believing in the lies that
Left them dying in the mud
And they're lying, lying, lying still
Accrington Pals

Smoky town which heard the news
Down in the valley, smoky little streets
Houses quiet and curtains drawn
All round the town a silent shroud of grief
And the larks were singing still above old Pendle Hill
The wind was in the bracken and the sun was shining still
A lark was singing sweetly as
The evening fell upon the Somme.....

For Edward Parkinson, Bobby Henderson, Willie Clegg,
Johnny Molloy, Norman Jones, Albert Berry, Willie Riley
The Accrington Pals.