We Remember a Lancashire Hero

Words – Graham Dixon – music John Cruickshank

Chorus
We remember a Lancashire Hero and we’ll all raise a glass in his name
Now he lies ‘neath the clay in a land far away
And a single red rose marks his grave
It was not for his Queen or his country it was not for family back home
It was all about oil on some Middle East soil
We remember a Lancashire hero

Young Daniel McCoy was a likeable boy Lancashire through to the core
He couldn’t get a trade so he joined the Brigade with the promise of adventure in store
He did twenty weeks basic training where he learned how to march shoot and kill
Then with pack on his back he was shipped to Iraq a peace-keeping role to fulfil

Chorus

Now Basra’s no place for a Lancashire face all alone and with nowhere to hide
There’s no-one to trust midst the sand and the dust stirred up by the riots outside
He picked up his young wounded comrade from the vehicles burning front seat
Then leaving his gun he started to the opposite side of the street

Chorus

He protected his friend right up to the end though the odds against him they were stacked
He took one in the neck then two in the chest and one in the small of the back
He was glad when the fighting was over as he slowly fell down to the ground
And just for that last breath in between life and death he was back in his Lancashire town

Chorus (with different first line)
We’ve remembered our Lancashire Hero and we’ve all raised a glass in his name

The song can be heard here We Remember a Lancashire Hero

Inspired by a headline in The Lancashire Evening Post

GD