MARIA'S PLACE / BATOCHE
On the South Saskatchewan River
There's a crossing and a bend
That they call Batoche
And on the banks of that river
A battle was won
And a people were lost
Well they've chased us once
And they'll chase us again
Do you remember, Gabriel
"Oui je me souvien"
We have called on Riel
He will speak to us now
"Will you fight for the land that is yours
Are you Men?
For the Redcoats are coming
Well this time they must take with guns
What once they took
With a pen"
On the South Saskatchewan River
In small little holes the Redcoats lay hiding
With only the queen on their side
And Riel, he has a God and a vision, but it won't fill their guns
So they know in their hearts
That it won't turn the tide
So you run, Gabriel, for your vision lies hanging
From a rope in a jail in an English town
Yes you run, Gabriel, for your skin is worth saving
There are many like you who must run from the Crown
Yes you run, Gabriel, though your heart, it is sinking
When you think of the lives of your friends that it's cost
Run, Gabriel, and someday you'll return
To the bend in the river they call Batoche
On the South Saskatchewan River
The crossing and the bend
And the banks remain
But the people have long since been scattered
Town is still there
But it's not the same
But you can hear Gabriel and Riel even yet
They are whispering "you can win what once was lost"
You can hear it in the rustle of the poplar leaves
And the bend in the river they call Batoche
from Moonlight Grocery and Vinyl Songbook
©1984 Word of Mouth Music