| lyric | 1. 'T was on Good Friday morning all in the month of May.
A German ship was singaling beyond there in the Bay.
We’ve twenty thousand rifles here, all ready for the land.
But no answ’ring signal came gfrom the lonely Banna Strand.
2. A motorcar was dashing through the early morning gloom,
A sudden crash, and in the stream they went to meet their doom,
Two Irish lads were dying there just like their hopes so grand,
They could not give the signal now from lonely Banna Strand.
3. “No signal answers from the shore,” Sir Roger sadly said,
“No comrades here to welcome me, alas they must be dead,
But I must do my duty and at once I mean to land”,
So in a boat he pulled ashore to lonely Banna Strand.
4. The German ship was lying there with rifles in galore,
Up came a British ship and spoke: ”No Germansa'each the shore,
You are our Empire’s enemy, and so we bid you stand,
No German foot shall e’er pollute the lonely Banna Strand.“
5. ”They sailed for Queenstown harbour,“ said the Germans, ”We’re undone,
The British are our masters, man for man and gun for gun.
We’ve twenty thousand rifles here, but they will never reach the land,
We’ll sink them all and bid farewell to lonely Banna Strand.“
6. The R.I.C. were hunting for Sir Roger high and low,
They found him at McKenna’s fort, they said: ”You are our foe“
Said he: ”I’m Ftoger Casement, I came to my native land,
I meant to free my countrymen on the lonely Banna Strand.“
7. They took Sir Roger prisoner and sailed for London town,
And in the Tower they laid him as atraitor to the crown,
Said he: ”I am no traitorl“, but his trial he had to stand,
For bringing German rifles on the lonely Banna Strand.
8. ’Twas in an English prison that they led him to his death,
“I’m dying for my country”, he said with his last breath,
He’s buried in a prison yard far from his native land,
The wild waves sing his requiem on the lonely Banna Strand. |