Witches in the Water

Brownshirt swordsman of Sydney Harbour
Put out to pasture in Dublin town
Archbishop's orders to seek and run those
Deserters down

[???] Boston, some call it London
Where exiles chose their hell
Ignorant labour and foul cavorting
Frank, you teach them well

[???]
He stood aghast as races mixed unmatched
One baby quoted him for car-park favours
That bargain was her last
There was no pipe band, or even earth moved
The reeking river passed

Witches in the water, we remember but forget
We love to eat the long pig, which we now of course
Regret

What made you seek out this Cape Trafalgar
This day of cannon fire, shipwreck and damp
[???]
Your Lordship, see, I bring good deals
Human kidneys from West Australia, hand-carved bauxite chairs
[???]
But I’ve seen that sword somewhere

Michael Barrymore, the royal surgeon
Salutes and calls from the tugboat prow
A sad farewell to Dead Dog Island
To lessen scorn, too dull to learn
Flames take fire to Canary Tower in 1929

Witches in the water, lots more sacrifices, please
Charcoal and molasses, and whose bowls are these

There was no pipe band, or even earth moved
There was a body, a crucifix chewed through
A ten-foot cortege, a white band with black trim
Slow-motion re-run, Battle of Aughrim

Let those marshlands be cleared for a fiesta of fraud
For entrepreneurs from at home and abroad
[???] opens, Guernica pageants
Performance potions, prosthetics and implants

The flags are out for him, a fan club waits within
[???]
He's kept the teeth and hair, it's what the showgirl wear
He puts them on display, a more refined hooray
Never happened, nor could it, of course
Humanity's been optimised

Witches in the water, by my sword they were chastised
Eating's never cheating, long pig pie was set aside
We've led such blameless lives