John Riley
Tim O'Brien

John Riley came from Galway town in the years of the Irish hunger
And he sailed away to America when the country was much younger
Now the place was strange and work was scarce
And all he knew was farming
So he followed his other Irish friends to a job in the US Army

Adventure calls and some men run, and this is their sad story
How some get drunk on demon rum and some get drunk on glory

Now they marched down Texas way to the banks of the Rio Grande
They built a fort on the banks above to taunt old Santa Anna
They were treated bad and paid worse, and then the fighting started
And the more they fought the less they thought of the damned old US Army

Adventure calls and some men run, and this is their sad story
How some get drunk on demon rum and some get drunk on glory

Now when the church bells rang on Sunday morn, it set his soul a shiver
He saw the Senoritas washing their hair on the far side of the river
Then John Riley and two hundred more Irish mercenaries
And they cast their lot, right or not, south of the Rio Grande

Adventure calls and some men run, and this is their sad story
How some get drunk on demon rum and some get drunk on glory

How they fought bravely under the flag of the San Patricios
Till the Yankees soldiers beat them down at the battle of Churubusco
Then fifteen men were whipped like mules
On the cheeks they were hot iron branded
Made to dig the graves of fifty more, who a hanging fate had handed

Adventure calls and some men run, and this is their sad story
How some get drunk on demon rum and some get drunk on glory

Now John Riley stands and drinks alone at a bar in Vera Cruz
And he wonders if it matters much if you win or if you lose
Well, I'm a man who can't go home, I'm a vagabond, says he
I'm a victim of some wanderlust and divided loyalty

Adventure calls and some men run, and this is their sad story
How some get drunk on demon rum and some get drunk on glory

Adventure calls and some men run, and this is their sad story
How some get drunk on demon rum and some get drunk on glory


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Lyrics by Tim O'Brien

  A House of Gold   Another Day   Bending Blades   Blackest Crow   Brother Wind   Circles Around You   Climbin' up a Montain   Climbing Up A Mountain   Cluck Old Hen   Daddy's on the Roof Again   Deep in the Woods   Demon Lover   Don't Be Surprised   Down in the Willow Garden   Drunkard's Hiccups (Jack Of Diamonds)   Easy as Pie [Instrumental]   Edge of the Storm   Evening   Every Tear Has a Reason Why   Fair Margaret and Sweet William   Family History   Fell into Her Deep Blue Eyes   First Days of Fall   Five Rooms   Flora, the Lily of the West   Footsteps So Near   For the Fallen   Forty-Nine Keep On Talkin'   Handsome Molly   Hard Pressed   Hard Times   Hard Year Blues   Hold to a Dream   Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor   How Come I Ain't Dead   Hungry Eyes   I Like the Way You Cook   I'm Not Gonna Forget You   I've Endured   Into the West   Ireland's Green Shore   Ireland's Green Shore [Instrumental]   Jonah and the Whale   Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning   Kelly Joe's Shoes   Kick Me When I'm Down   Less & Less   Let Love Take You Back Again   Like I Used to Do   Little Sadie   Lone Tree Standing   Long Black Veil   Long Distance   Lost Little Children   Love and Laughter   Love Is Pleasing   Love on Hold   Maggie's Farm   Me And Dick's Trip To Ireland   Me and Dirk's Trip to Ireland   Melancholy Moon (Not)   Mic Ryan's Lament   Mick Ryan's Lament   Mole in the Ground   More Love   Mountaineer Is Always Free   Music Tree   Nellie Kane   Nice Work If You Can Get It [Outtake]   Norwegian Wood   On the Outside Looking In   One Drop of Rain   One Girl Cried   One Way Street   Out in the Darkness   Out on the Rolling Sea   Queen of Hearts   Raleigh and Spencer   Restless Spirit Wandering   Ribbon in Your Hair   River of Blood   Rock In A Weary Land   Rock in My Shoe   Rod McNeil   Romance Is a Slow Dance   Shadows of Light   She's Runnin' Away   Skillet Good And Greasy   Talkin' Cavan   That's What I Like About You   The Farmer's Cursed Wife   The Foggy Dew   The High Road   The Holy Well   The Perfect Place to Hide   The Second Mouse   The Tide Flows into Miltown   Think About Last Night   Travelers   Turn the Page Again   Turning Around   Two Journeys   Two Journeys (Deux Voyages)   Wagoner's Lad   Walk Beside Me   Walk The Way The Wind Blows   Wandering   Wayfarin' Stranger   What Does the Deep Sea Say?   When I Die I'll Live Again   When There's No One Around   When You Come Back Down   Wildewood Drive [Instrumental]   Working On A Building

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