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The Rock and the Tide

by Brian McNeill

on The Back O' The North Wind (1991)

Come all of you who lie in the prisons of the mighty
Who refuse to deny what you believe
And know your greatest foe is the servant o' the night
Who tries to sell the bargain of reprieve
And when the captains o' the cruel come to whisper their lies
Let their temptations fall by your side
Listen tae the ocean and remember
How the rock stands firm against the tide

And you who would be jailers, take this warning
For every man you break upon your wheel
There's another whose courage will pierce you like a thorn
When you see you can never make him kneel
And when the thorn digs deep into the canker of your heart
And the prisoner sees the shame you cannot hide
It's then you'll fear the sound o' the ocean
Where the rock stands firm against the tide

No matter the freedom, no matter the cause
No matter the truth that lies beyond
No evil can triumph, though it cloak itself in law
Against a man whose word is his bond
No cage can hold the spirit of a true man's heart
And injustice can never fetter pride
No tyrant can ever chain the ocean
While the rock stands firm against the tide