Tavish, Ace, and Markey are the three Quinn brothers who died when their flat in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, was firebombed early on the morning of July 12, 1998.


BALLYMONEY MORNING / BIRMININGHAM SUNDAY

Original lyrics by Richard & Mimi Farina © 1964 (Verses 2, 3, 4, 5)
New lyrics by Stephen L. Suffet © 1998, 2001 (Verses 1, 6, 7, 8)
Tune based on "Now She's Wed to Another" (traditional)

1. It's been many long years since I last sang this song,
And I pray that I don't get the story all wrong,
If you want you can join me and sing right along,
For Tavish, for Ace, and for Markey.

2. That cold autumn morning, no eyes saw the Sun,
And Addie Mae Collins, her number was one,
In an old Baptist church, there was no need to run,
And the choir kept singing of freedom.

3. The clouds they were gray and the autumn winds blew,
And Denise McNair brought the number to two,
The Falcon of Death was a creature she knew,
And the choir kept singing of freedom.

4. The church it was crowded, no one could see,
That Cynthia Wesley's dark number was three,
Her prayers and her feelings would shame you and me,
And the choir kept singing of freedom.

5. Young Carol Robertson entered the door,
And the number her killers had given was four,
She asked for a blessing, she asked for no more,
And the choir kept singing of freedom.

6. Oh thirty-five years is the distance in time,
And three thousand miles across the salt brine,
But all I can do is to sing these few lines,
For Tavish, for Ace, and for Markey.

7. Today it's a Catholic, tomorrow a Jew,
A Muslim, a Hindu, and a Protestant, too,
The murder of children should shame me and you,
For Tavish, for Ace, and for Markey.

8. On a Ballymoney morning the ground shook again,
And people all over the Earth recalled when,
The hand of the coward brought death closing in,
And the choir kept singing of freedom.