Only Our Rivers Run Free

Michael McConnel

When apples still grow in November
And blossoms still bloom from each tree
When leaves are still green in December
It is then that our land shall be free

I wonder o'er hills and o'er valleys
And still through my sorrow I see

A land that has never known freedom
And only our rivers run free

We drink to the death of her manhood
Those men who would rather have died
than live in the cold chains of bondage
and bring back their rights were denied

but where are you now when we need you
what burns where the flame used to be
are you gone like the snows of last winter
and only our rivers run free

how sweet is life but were cryin'
how mellow the wine but were dry
how fragrant the rose but its dyin'
how gentle the breeze that sighs

what good is a youth when its ageing
what joy is in eyes that cant see
when there's sorrow and sunshine and flowers
and only our rivers run free