Lyrics

Battle of Brooklyn

Oh, the Redcoats came and the battle roared

And the Maryland regiment trapped in a ford

Loaded each musket, drew each sword

 

Nearly three hundred men

Soldiers brave and true

In battle dress of ragged blue

Were murdered as the redcoats slew and slew

 

And Washington looking over the kill

From a safe place on a distant hill

Marveled at the soldiers’ rustic will

 

Saying “Good, God, what brave fellows this day I must lose”

Indeed. What news.

 

It’s written on a plaque on the crumbling wall

Of the local VFW hall

How the Maryland soldiers fell, nearly all

 

You can imagine the ancient drama

If you see the diorama

At the old stone house at the battle’s scene

Up beyond the green

 

A battle, one of many

Common as a rusted penny

You can read of in a history book

Curled up in a cozy nook

 

But the ghosts of the soldiers dead and gone

The souls of the ones who passed bloodily on

Some feel their presence on great swaths of lawn

 

As the stout lady sings and the brass band plays

As we gather on Memorial days

Have you noticed how a little one smiles and sways?

 

We’re charmed and delighted

We give her a round

As she dances to the bright band sound

Marching her little feet off the ground

 

It’s my fancy that a soldier, long lost

Buried deep beneath the frost

A soldier boy, both true and brave

Once or twice a year rises from his grave

 

And respectfully listens to the band

Occasionally offers his ghostly hand

To the one who dances alone on the lawn

And waltzes with her lovingly as we look on

 

Knowing full well, we and he

That one day we’ll all be

Dancing, after battles, ghostily

All words and music by Dave Hall ©

Publisher: Row House Music   PRO: ASCAP