Mccreary's Pipes

Mary read it on the rider’s face
The boys were heading to a far-off place
He said, «Fetch McCreary and fetch the pipes
And say your prayers to God tonight»
Ride Ride with pipes and drums
Down to Keller to oust the bums
Ride Ride with pipes and drums
Down to Keller to do what must be done
McCreary led them down through misty hills
His pipes were singing there’d be blood to spill
But the same drone that turns a man to ghost
Does wail back home to those love most
Ride Ride with pipes and drums
Strike a pitch and start the run
Ride Ride with pipes and drums
And chase the devil back where he belongs
McCreary and the boys attacked
While Mary kept the weeds fought back
And left the table set for eight
And watched the sunsets count her wait
Ride Ride with pipes and drums
Flour ground and axes swung
Ride Ride with pipes and drums
Bones and branches torn from where they’d hung
The boys came home Mary fell and cried
Six had left her now she counted five
Cried «I worked too hard to bear those lives
McCreary you chose those pipes or I»
Ride Ride with pipes and drums
Back home when the fighting’s done
Ride Ride with pipes and drums
The farm’s quiet and McCreary’s pipes are gone