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