Fichead Bliadhna - Runrig

Running in the moors

Running in the hills

And then to school at the end of summer

Children,

Five years of age,

Without a word of English in my head

Here is your book,

Here is your pen.

«Study hard», that’s what they told me,

«And you will rise up in the world,

You will get ahead.»

Twenty years for the truth

I had to wait

I had to search

Twenty years of lies

They denied me knowledge of myself.

I learned many things

The English language, the poetry of England

The music of Germany

The history of Spain

And even that was a false history

Then on to further education

Following education, more education

Like idiots on the end of a string

Our heads filled with a sort of learning

Twenty years for the truth

I had to wait

I had to search

Twenty years of lies

They denied me knowledge of myself.

And I did rise in the world

I found my suit, I found my shirt

I found a place in the eyes of men

Well away from the freedom of the moor

But why did they keep our history from us?

I’ll tell you they are frightened

In case the Gaels rise

With searching and penetrating questions.

Twenty years for the truth

I had to wait

I had to search

Twenty years of lies

They denied me knowledge of myself.

When I started searching

I could not believe my eyes,

evil works.

Twenty years and still ignorant