The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #89352   Message #3811313
Posted By: Tattie Bogle
25-Sep-16 - 07:02 PM
Thread Name: refugee and immigration songs
Subject: RE: refugee and immigration songs
As promised: here is Steven Clark's song "Coming Home".
It won the Songwriting competition at Girvan Traditional Music Festival back in the first half of the 2000s: one of the judges was Ian Bruce who went on to record it as "Coming Hame", and the McCalmans also recorded it. It is sung by just about every community singing group and session singer in Scotland now, as well as being approved for use in Scottish secondary schools - see link below, where you can also hear Steven singing it.
Coming Home


COMING HOME                                Steven Clark
1. Put a light in the window,
Your brother's coming home,
Set a meal on the table,
Your brother's coming home,
He'll be tired and weary after all these years alone,
He's coming home, your brother's coming home.

2. Take the chain from the door,
Your sister's coming home,
Open wide your arms,
Your sister's coming home,
Don't leave her standing there after all the pain she's known,
She's coming home, your sister's coming home.
        
Chorus
Coming home to a place they've never been,
Coming home to a land they've never seen,
Coming home to a family they have never known,
All Jock Tamson's bairns ...are coming home.

3. He's been angry and afraid,
Your father's coming home,
He's been hounded and betrayed,
Your father's coming home,
And with every act of kindness a seed of hope is sown
He's coming home, your father's coming home.

4. Bring her in from the cold,
Your mother's coming home,
Sit her down by the fire,
Your mother's coming home,
Make her warm, make her welcome before the chance is gone,
She's coming home, your mother's coming home.        
        
Chorus        Coming home, etc


5.From Iraq and Zimbabwe,
Your family's coming home,
And from Turkey and Somalia,
Your family's coming home,
Seeking rest and refuge they have never known        
They're coming home, your family's coming home.

Chorus        Coming home, etc                
Rep last line – All Jock Tamson's bairns.....are coming home.