If Truth Be Treason - Janey Hirsh

[Larry Robinson]

If Truth Be Treason

Early in kingship, Edward gave a battle-cry,
We answered his calling, other lads and I,
They promised us that, t'would be a great romance,
To bear the Lion pennant to France.
Gauntlet was down, our fate was sealed,
Lilies of France met Lions on the field,
I believed in glory, I was but a fool,
Battlefields abroad became a bloody school,
They told us lies, their deception was cruel,
And if truth be treason, liars rule

Treaty of Brittany soon gave way to war,
Treaty of Bruges lasted slightly more,
Soon we were fighting, killing again,
Meadows now covered, not with flowers, but with men
Women are widowed, children know pain.
Hardship and suffering are all that's remained
Year after year; we grow weary from the fray.
Lions win battles, but the French will have their day
I am not saying King Edward is a fool.
Yet if truth be treason, Liars rule.

Now I see war as sorrow and tears
Especially one that goes on for years,
For a knight to speak thus sets a precedent
I no longer will go blindly wherever I am sent,
I've seen too many bodies covered with flies,
Knowing that  the carnage was built upon their lies,
After years of battle, I tell you in sooth,
War's first victim is always the truth
All the wars through history, the soldier's but a tool
And if truth be treason, liars rule.

    - Janey Hirsh