Stories from the Exile
Words, music and arrangements by Vincent Lockhart
Words, music and arrangements by Vincent Lockhart
Archibald Buchanan
(1871-1929)
(1871-1929)
Stories from the Exile - Archibald Buchanan
Pull back the curtains, Mary,
let me see the light.
Let me see the shipyard cranes
towering out of sight.
O I’ve tried to be a good man,
tried to do what a good man should.
So don’t cry then, Mary.
It’ll do no good.
And does the flame that we’re born with
fade away to a spark and end?
Ah, Mary, who knows?
You know I never believed in God.
He never believed in me.
He never stood with us in the fight
to set the working man free.
O come and hold my hand, Mary,
for death’s just a breath away.
And if your God lets atheists into heaven
and he’s a good man as you say,
ah well, don’t cry then, Mary,
I’m sure he’ll let me stay.
And does the flame that we’re born with
fade away to a spark and end?
Ah, Mary, who knows?
Down by the Clydeside
was all I ever knew
and life was hard and bitter sometimes.
Ah, but there was always you.
And it was such a long fall
from the womb to the grave.
What was life really all about, Mary?
Was it worth all we gave?
And what lies before me, Mary,
O I really don’t know,
I don’t know, I don’t know.
And does the flame that we’re born with
fade away to a spark and end?
Ah, Mary, who knows?
Ah, well, Mary, here goes
ah for a leap in the dark,
Mary, here goes,
ah, for a leap in the dark.
Background
‘Baldy’ Buchanan was a friend of my grandfather and lived in Clydebank near Glasgow. He was a well known atheist and communist.
At that time, during the 1920s and 30s the workers of 'Red Clydeside' were well known for their militancy. My father used to recall when he was boy watching, and joining in, the marches and protests and, on one occasion, cheering the storming of a police station to free the well-known socialist, John Maclean, who had been arrested.
The final lines of the song are Baldy's actual last words.
Vocal and guitar: Vincent Lockhart
Piano: Greg McHugh
Violin: Deirdre Morrison