[Verse 1] From Ireland's shore, a statesman's cry, When evil marches, bold and high, Burke said The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing! [Chorus] Heave ho, for Burke, the wise and old! Tradition's worth more dear than gold! Heave ho, society's a chain, Linking the past, the sun, the rain! [Verse 2] This life we live, a sacred trust, Burke said Society is indeed a contract... a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born! [Chorus] Heave ho, for Burke, the wise and old! Tradition's worth more dear than gold! Heave ho, society's a chain, Linking the past, the sun, the rain! [Verse 3] The minds intemperate and wild, Can never taste true liberty! Burke said It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters! [Chorus] Heave ho, for Burke, the wise and old! Tradition's worth more dear than gold! Heave ho, society's a chain, Linking the past, the sun, the rain! [Verse 4] What good is freedom unrestrained? Burke said But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils! Don't stand idle, though small deeds gained, Burke said Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little! Do right! [Chorus] Heave ho, for Burke, the wise and old! Tradition's worth more dear than gold! Heave ho, society's a chain, Linking the past, the sun, the rain!
