Produced by Alan O'Duffy and Horslips.  Engineer Alan O'Duffy.  
Recorded at Lombard Sound Studios, Dublin
Sleeve design Charles O'Connor. Photography Ian Finlay. Art Geoff Halpin.

As chronicled in The Book of Invasions, the sons of Mil
inherited Ireland from the mystical Tuatha De Dannan
in 350 B.C. The 1840’s were the Famine Years and once
again the Sons of Mil were driven to search for a new home

Exiled they were fated to begin a new life as aliens.

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Tracks

Before The Storm.
The Wrath of The Rain.
Speed The Plough.
Sure The Boy Was Green.
Come Summer.
New York Wakes.
Stowaway.
Ghosts.
Second Avenue.
A Lifetime to Pay.

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The Wrath of the Rain

Ragged and rough in those sepia pages
tear streaked and fearful, alone,
they were caught in the casual flash of the camera
a number, a name, do you know where they've gone?
They came with the faces of innocents
and they left with the bodies of men.
They were out on the run,
they were fleeing the wrath of the rain.

Deadbeat with drifting, they scrambled ashore
and they ran from the spell of the sea
and they looked to tire past and drank to the future
and knew in their hearts it was never to be.
Now some of them came from the stony lands
and some from the paths of the plain;
but every man was fleeing the wrath of the rain

Where have they gone to, those faded faces,
those fierce moustachioed men?
The women and boys and their tattered belongings,
what has become of the loss and the pain?
I see them today on the streets of the city,
we nod to each other again;
and I stand in their doorways to shelter
awhile from the rain

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Speed the Plough

The girl I love waits for me now,
She'll be standing by the well;
She may have to wait untiI it's dry
Cos I am off to hell.
Speed the plough. . . speed the plough.
I'll wait no more for fire from God.
Listen to me now
Speed the plough... speed the plough.

I counted lines on her pretty face
And felt the tears she cried.
Her cheeks were bleached as white as snow
As she kissed me goodbye.
We heard the hounds we could not see;
We knew our time had come.
I turned my back on prison farm
And then began to run.

Speed the plough. . speed the plough.
I'll wait no more for fire from God.
Listen to me now.
Speed the plough... speed the plough.

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Sure the Boy Was Green

Sure the boy was green his heart was on the line.
Seventeen and lonely and biding his time.
Sure the boy was green his heart was on the line.
Seventeen and lonely and biding his time.
He was only a mad moonlighter, dancing by the sea,
Envying nobody chasing shadows crazy and free.
You were the cloud that covered the moon now he just can't see.

Now he's just a kid with a runaway heart,
Jumping ship to anywhere, trying to make a fresh start .
Running away from everything playing a lonely bit part.
Look at all those fresh young kids, they think they know it all,
Look at the little crazy guy, swaggering down the hall,
He could dance his way to freedom if you don't make him fall.
Now you got him all to yourself what you gonna do?
You're the one who set the trap you know it's up to you,
Call the shots, open the cage, you know he won't run through.

Torch-bearing lady see this kid, he's in love with you.
Dream-selling lady he's in need, you'd better come through.

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Come Summer

There's a fire which you can't see burning.
There's a voice on the wind
And it's telling who's sinned.
It belongs to the sad lonesome stranger
Who's been cheated so long
He's forgotten the song.
And you can't see his eyes or his longing-
-A hat pulled down low
Hides the price on his soul.
There's a ship which won't be long coming;
So when he gets on board
You just whisper the word.
Takes a last look over his shoulder,
Sees the sun going down
Watched by no one around
So where are his friends now he needs them?
It was all they could do
To start life anew
So they've left taking memories with them.
But with those who have cared
A sweet magic is shared
And its' charm will always be with us,
Clear and sharp as a sword, So just whisper the word.
They say there's a country where the streets are paved with gold,
Where a man can find shelter far away from the cold.
And I 'm sailing out to find it before I'm too old,
come summer.

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New York Wakes

Said we never should have let them go
but we let them go
To find a living in the foreign places
where the crazy faces made them feel so low
A thousand promises we meant to keep
but we could not keep
We built a city out of junkyard alleys
and landscape valleys, where dead men sleep.
Ah, but you were a playboy; you could
always sing along

Even at those New York Wakes you were
always good for a song.
And you said "Hey New York, come on tell me,
can this be the promised land? ''
Close your eyes and you can feel all right
in the teeming night
And set your face against the rush of feet
and the sidewalk heat and the cafe light.
Just remember what they said at home
when you went alone
That no one here is going to fake the time,
to read your mind or save your soul
But you were a dancer when there was dancing in the streets.
Night-time boys and Broadway Jigs helped
keep your footwork neat
And you said "Hey New York, come on tell me,
can this be the promised land"?

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Stowaway

I 'm just a stowaway adrift on the sea
I didn't build the ship I didn't cry the sea

I'm just a stowaway don't go bothering me.
I'm just a castaway on an island of stones
I didn't want to go don't want to be alone.

I’m just a castaway don't leave me on my own.
No one knows the tears I cried the day I knew I was leaving
Where was there to go? I don’t know.

I 'm just a memory a dream and a sigh
But sighs can drift away and dreams can tell a lie
I 'm just a memory and memories never die.

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Ghosts

I lived alone without you
Shadows on my wall
Ghosts in my looking glass
Voices in the hall
At first I didn’t understand
I had nothing left to sell
And although I played with fire
My if life was cold as hell.
There came a knocking on my door
The landlord dressed in black
Said "pack your bags and move on out
We don't ever want you back "
And who was I to question
The logic of his schemes
When they proved there can be hope
Wherever there are dreams.
Mine are just a foolish heart
Couldn't fake a smile
Thought I'd find deliverance
Down another mile
And I remember being in love
So long ago it seems
The love that drives me ever on
Is the love I find in dreams.

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Second Avenue

They'll be waiting at the quay-side;
They'll be running down the hill
Will they meet and recognise us;
And do they really love us still?

All down Second Avenue
The news is spreading fast.
They've parleyed with the captain
And they're Corning in;
They're coming home at Iast.

So tell the people
The future's on its' way
That's what the people say

They'll be crowding on the rooftops;
Cheering wildly in the shuttered streets.
They'll be streaming down the sidewalks;
They'll be dancing in the midnight heat.

And though they can't remember what they're cheering for today
It's far too late to tell them they've been fooled again;
They never listen anyway.
So tell them brother - the future starts today,
That's what the papers say.
All along the darkened streets
The news is spreading fast.
The dancers are all leaving and the crowd is still;
The music's stopped at last.

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A Lifetime To Pay

So this is your day-look round you
You've made it at last
The American Way.
You're top of the heap-believe it.
Got a place in the sun.
And you're planning to stay.
It was tough on the street
It was rough down there making ends meet,
Now you're up on your feet
You can live for today.
Just a dollar a day...

And a Iifetime to pay.

So this is the life you dreamed of
Don 't worry if it 's not as good as it seemed
You've enough on your plate - that's business;
You know you can buy the American Dream.
You've worked for it all,
Had your back to the wall,
Now it's free for alI
The American Way
With a dollar a day...
And a lifetime to pay.

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