Prompt / Lyrics
[Verse 1] They came up the lane in the grey of the morning Boots in the puddles Coats turned high Masks on their faces Eyes hard as iron Hands on our children We dared not cry [Verse 2] “Just for a while ” so soft were their voices “Only a lesson And then they’ll come back” My tongue turned to stone My knees turned to water I watched my own heart in a stranger’s sack [Chorus] But we’ll stand in the gap Shoulder to shoulder Hands on the gate when they darken our door If fear is a tide Then love is a boulder We’ll anchor these little ones safe to the shore We’ll anchor these little ones safe to the shore (hey!) [Verse 3] I cursed in my chest till it burned like whiskey I shook like a leaf as they marched away The sky didn’t crack The ground didn’t open Just small waving hands And nothing to say [Verse 4] For years we were ghosts in our own small kitchens Stories in whispers Looks at the floor The names of our children carved into timber The sound of the latch The fear at the door [Chorus] But we’ll stand in the gap Shoulder to shoulder Hands on the gate when they darken our door If fear is a tide Then love is a boulder We’ll anchor these little ones safe to the shore We’ll anchor these little ones safe to the shore [Bridge] One voice in the hall Then a second beside her (oh) A third at the well with her sleeves rolled high We gathered like crows on the cold stone corner And faced the road with our heads held high [Verse 5] Now when wheels turn on that bend in the mountain We rise from the fields From the shops From the quay No child walks that road in the grasp of a stranger A wall built of mothers is all they see [Chorus] We will stand in the gap Shoulder to shoulder Hands on the gate when they darken our door If fear is a tide Then love is a boulder We’ll anchor these little ones safe to the shore We’ll anchor these little ones safe to the shore [Outro] So come Little lambs Let the wide world tremble We’ve woven a circle from village to town Behind every small hand is ten thousand fingers And masks fall away when we stand our ground
Tags
folk, Lilted Irish folk ballad with female vocals; gentle picked guitar and low whistle set a haunted mood, bodhrán entering as tension rises. Verses stay close and intimate, almost a hush; chorus opens with strong unison voices and close harmonies, fiddle answering the melody. Final refrain swells with communal gang vocals, steady drum pulse, and a held drone that feels like a line in the sand., female vocals, irish folk
Duration
4:29
Instrumental
No
Created
1/23/2026