Lullaby of Remembrance

The songs of the mountain

And winds of the sea

Whisper their lullaby

Unto you and me.

The sweet-smelling holly

And bayberries fair

Remember the lost ones

With sorrow and prayer.

Remember the valleys,

Remember the caves,

The shouts of the morning,

The donkeys that bray.

The sounds of the farmland

And whispers of home

Are calling from wastelands

Where slavery was known.

The crackle of fire

While stories are told

Of how they were “hired”

Until they were old–

My mother and father

Remember the day

When men from far yonder

Drove all joy away.

The battles were bloody,

The sorrows were deep;

I lost many loved ones,

I lost so much sleep.

The pain, it grew harder

As the days, they grew long.

The dead were increasing

As the war carried on.

All blessings to Heaven

And the wisdom of old,

To those who abided

In the valley of old,

And hearts of the grieving,

May they cease to know pain

Until the dawn of the morrow

Brings joy once again.