She bore half a ton o' sons & had to bury all but one
Who's locked away in prison for not takin' up his gun
Now all she has to comfort her from this day to her last
Are a box of old white feathers some lumps o' brass
She sings 'keep yer boys at home by fires warm & bright
Let the generals look stupid when there’s no one there to fight
Let 'em sort it out among 'emselves, or kill each other tryin'
So that better men than they are kept from dyin''
Home rule! (Keep 'em at home) rule
Put pressure where it bleeds
We're rippin’ out the roses with the weeds
The walls are all bruised with the damp
The curtains are drawn all 'round
There’s great piles o' leaves, paint flakes from the eaves
Where they’ve hung like her poor worried brow
"Oh where did you go to my lovely?
This house is no longer a home
It'll rot like a shell each day you’re in hell
Oh why'd you go leave me alone?"
Their pictures hang crooked, no glass in the frame
They've been stuck back together though they're never the same
"Choked wi' pride
I’m buckled with shame!"