Dear Mither ah'm writin' –frae a place near Baghdad
The gun-fire is frightening the warld's gaun hauf mad
An' the roads fou o' craturs –the hooses a' dust
It's hard tae win favours ye dinna ken fa' tae trust
«You must win hearts and minds men» the officer yells
It's hard tae win herts Ma when yer' bristling wi' shells
An' a'm that seek wi' sorrow fur the things that ah see
The pair fowks doon the village are jist like you and me.
There's nae 'lectric nor watter, there's nae even bread
An' hoo can they find ony as choppers roar overhead?
An' the tanks clatter by –wi' their guns spittin' flame
It's a mind-numbin' terror that bauchles the brain.
«Ye maun win hearts an' minds» the sergeant aye cries
Lassies hide behind burquas –but hev tears in their eyes
An' a wuman's milkin' a nanny goat –as I haud it still
Tae get a drappie fresh milk as the bairnie is ill.
Ah can jist see ye frying fish and chips for the tea
Go on, Ma, jist fer a laff –fry a fishie fur me!
An ma Dad's feenished milkin' an' in fae the byre
Tae the six o'clock news an' a seat at the fire.
There's a special report, Dad, frae a knob in Iraq
«Our lads are doing splendidly -they can't come back.
We'll give it two more years – til we hand over power
We're dashed proud of our troops it's their finest hour.
«Ye maun win hearts and minds lads » the daily request
An auld wifie blessed me -and says Allah kens best
An' we're a' jist fair seek fur the hard life they've got
They're wonderful folks, Ma, ye'd like them a lot.
Weel its time tae gaun oot on the evenin' patrol
The streets hev a' emptied an' it's gettin' gey cauld
An' Ah hope they're safe hunkered awa' frae the chill
God bless an' keep ye baith – yer lovin' son, Phil..
God bless an' keep ye baith.. – Yer lovin' son, .Phil..
The gun-fire is frightening the warld's gaun hauf mad
An' the roads fou o' craturs –the hooses a' dust
It's hard tae win favours ye dinna ken fa' tae trust
«You must win hearts and minds men» the officer yells
It's hard tae win herts Ma when yer' bristling wi' shells
An' a'm that seek wi' sorrow fur the things that ah see
The pair fowks doon the village are jist like you and me.
There's nae 'lectric nor watter, there's nae even bread
An' hoo can they find ony as choppers roar overhead?
An' the tanks clatter by –wi' their guns spittin' flame
It's a mind-numbin' terror that bauchles the brain.
«Ye maun win hearts an' minds» the sergeant aye cries
Lassies hide behind burquas –but hev tears in their eyes
An' a wuman's milkin' a nanny goat –as I haud it still
Tae get a drappie fresh milk as the bairnie is ill.
Ah can jist see ye frying fish and chips for the tea
Go on, Ma, jist fer a laff –fry a fishie fur me!
An ma Dad's feenished milkin' an' in fae the byre
Tae the six o'clock news an' a seat at the fire.
There's a special report, Dad, frae a knob in Iraq
«Our lads are doing splendidly -they can't come back.
We'll give it two more years – til we hand over power
We're dashed proud of our troops it's their finest hour.
«Ye maun win hearts and minds lads » the daily request
An auld wifie blessed me -and says Allah kens best
An' we're a' jist fair seek fur the hard life they've got
They're wonderful folks, Ma, ye'd like them a lot.
Weel its time tae gaun oot on the evenin' patrol
The streets hev a' emptied an' it's gettin' gey cauld
An' Ah hope they're safe hunkered awa' frae the chill
God bless an' keep ye baith – yer lovin' son, Phil..
God bless an' keep ye baith.. – Yer lovin' son, .Phil..
Contributed by giorgio - 2013/5/30 - 13:05
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Lyrics by Jean Souter Bambrick
Music by Iain Scally
Hearts and Minds is a protest of a different sort. It's the observations of an ordinary bloke who happens to be a soldier. He's doing his job and duty in the unhealthy atmosphere of Iraq but can still look around him and see parallels between the folks getting on with their daily life despite the same unhealthy atmosphere and his own parents eking out an existence on a croft in Buchan.'
"A "single", featuring the words of a poem written by a friend, Jean Bambrick, a former journalist who tells the story of a Buchan loon writing home to his parents with his observations of the day to day existence of Iraqi families who are caught up in the conflict but just want to get on with their lives as best they can".
Hearts and Minds (A Buchan loon's Letter Home)