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SOS (Sum of Survival)
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SOS (Sum of Survival) - Written by John Guliak
The HMS Sappho had paid all her dues
Taking the slave ships to task
Banished to the south seas she swallowed her crew
Though many lay claim her past
39 died on the SS Marine Sulphur Queen
Sometimes your fate’s in a name
Unsafe and unfit to sail in 1963
They sent her to sea just the same
Chorus
If the sum of survival is leaving your mark
The sea won’t remember your name
Come join us below in the deep and the dark
Where it’s always and never the same
Theodora Burr Alston presumed lost at sea
Was fleeing the death of her son
There were tales of the plank, how she smiled as she sank
So thankful her peace had been won
The USS Cyclops set sail from Brazil
But never delivered her hold
300 souls lost without living their fill
In a shipload of tales never told
Chorus
The richest plunder ever lost was in 1641
When the Merchant Royal sank off Land’s End
Her treasure cast away has never been won
El Dorado returned to the dead
Ghosts roamed the decks of the Mary Celeste
All possessions and provisions in their place
Not a bone or a breath of the crew nor the guests
Was found or ever heard of again
Chorus
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The Ballad of Roger Casement - Written by John Guliak
The river gave passage to Empire and enterprise
Nothing and no one could stand in their way
Those unlucky souls forced to join the campaigns
Wore the mark of Arana, were tortured and flayed
It was said you were better off dead
Than filling King Leopold’s baskets with hands
And 10 million would die
(Chorus)
He pushed the river but returned to the sea
Hearts in darkness always recede (X2)
Back home in Ireland the English declared
That the Celts were a relic whose allegiance was theirs
Some fought back in parliament, others saw need
To ensure their voice through armed diplomacy
Larne and Howth bore the luck of the Irish
While poor Roger Casement was doubly betrayed
And left on the Strand
(Chorus)
Sent to the tower on the banks of the Thames
To be hung on a coma and shamed in your grave
Denied by Sinn Fein and shunned by Clan na Gael
Abandoned by all in the Irish Brigades
Those who cared and stood by their word
Were scattered by scandal and muzzled by fear
When the minute bell rang
(Chorus
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John Guliak Edmonton, Alberta
John Guliak is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has been performing roots music in Canada for over 20 years. John's music contrasts the isolation of his prairie upbringing with his later experiences in the urban landscapes of Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto. The songs that result have been compared to those of other uniquely Canadian voices such as Gordon Lightfoot and Leonard Cohen. ... more
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