[Intro]
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[Verse 1]
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Smoky town where they were born,
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Down in the valley, smoky little streets;
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They were pals from childhood days
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Climbing trees and running through the fields
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And they all played together
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Through the turning of the years,
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Sharing their laughter, sharing all their fears.
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The seasons saw them growing, oh
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The seasons passing turned them round
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Through the turning, turning, turning years,
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The Accrington Pals.
[Verse 2]
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Schooldays end, the lads all went
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To work, some spinning, some weaving in the sheds,
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On the land or down the pit,
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Working hard to earn their daily bread.
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And they all went walking up old Pendle Hill
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On Sundays, the larks sang high above the dale,
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Little Willie Riley
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Played his mandolin and sang.
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They were laughing, they were singing then,
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The Accrington Pals.
[Verse 3]
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1916 came the call:
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We need more lads to battle with the Hun,
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Lads of Lancashire, heed the call;
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With God on our side the battle will soon be won
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So they all came marching to the beating of the drums
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Down from the fields and factories they’d come,
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Smiling at the girls who
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Came to see them on their way.
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They were marching, marching, marching away,
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The Accrington Pals
[Verse 4]
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Blue skies shining on that perfect day,
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A lark was singing high above the Somme;
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Brothers, pals and fathers lay
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Watching that sweet bird sing in the quiet of the dawn
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Then they all went walking out
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Towards the howling guns,
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Talking and laughing, calmly walking on,
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Believing in the lies that
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Left them dying in the mud;
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And they’re lying, lying, lying still,
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The Accrington Pals
[Verse 5]
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Smoky town that heard the news
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Down in the valley, smoky little streets;
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Houses quiet and curtains pulled
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All round the town, a silent shroud of grief.
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And the larks were singing still above Old Pendle Hill,
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The wind was in the bracken,
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The sun was shining still,
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And the larks were singing sweetly as
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The evening fell upon the Somme
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On Edward Parkinson
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Bobby Henderson
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Billie Clegg
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Johnny Molloy
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Norman Jones
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Albert Berry
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Willie Riley,
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The Accrington Pals