Mick Blake
What will it take to make us angry, where is the spark to light our flame
We’ve been sold out, taken in, yet blindly
We’ll do it all again, fuel that gravy train …
Oblivious
They give all we treasure away for half nothing
Banish our children to labour on rich foreign shores
Prey on the weak, bow to the ones who have plenty
We follow them blindly again as we did before
We stick with The Tribe, we stand by our man
Whipped into line by this great master plan
Stuck in a spiral still fighting an old civil war
The Men and Women of 1916
Risked their lives for a National dream
One hundred years later, what was it all for
Hear their voices resounding, calling to me and to you
All they dreamt of and died for, squandered by scoundrels and fools,
Is this the best we can do?
I first heard Mick Blake at a concert in Vicar Street, Dublin in October 2014. He joined us that night to raise funds for the Middle East Children’s Alliance. Since then we have shared songs. Recently I heard “Oblivious” via the Rossport “Shell to Sea” album. I first sang this song in Ballina, Co, Mayo, where it received a mixed reception. A true modern-day bard, Mick writes and sings in the manner of the old ballad singers who sang their songs and sold their ballad sheets carrying news and alternative perspectives from town to town.