In the tenements o Glasgow in the year one nine one five It was one long bloody struggle just to keep ourselves alive We were countin oot the coppers to buy our scraps o food When the landlords put the rent up just because they could And though the factories were hummin’, it was overtime galore But the wages they were driven doon tae subsidise the war Oot came Mrs. Barbour frae her wee bit single end She said, I’ll organise the lassies if I cannae get the men ‘Cos I’m fae Govan and your fae Partick, This yin here’s from Bridge o’ Weir and thons fae Kinning Park There’s some that’s prods, there’s some that’s catholic, But we’re Mrs. Barbour’s Army and we’re here tae dae the work ​Mrs. Barbour made a poster sayin’, "We’ll no’ pay higher rent!" Then she chapped on every door of every Govan tenement She said, "Put this in the windae when you hear me bang the drum We’ll go oot an’ chase the factor aw the way tae kingdom come" When the poor wee lad came round he was battered black and blue By a regiment in pinnies that kennt just what tae do Mrs. Barbour organised the gaitherin’ o’ the clans And they burst oot o the steamie armed wi pots and fryin pans Mrs. Barbour’s Army spread through Glasgow like the plague The maisters got the message but the message wisny vague While our menfolk fight the Kaiser we’ll stay hame & fight the war Against the greedy bastards who've been grindin down the poor If ye want tae stop conscription stop the war and profiteers The whole big bloody sandpit will come crashin’ doon their ears We’ll no’ starve Mrs. Barbour while the men we call our ain Are watching all their heart’s blood wash like water doon a drain Well it didnae take the government that lang tae realise If you crack doon on the leaders then the rest will compromise They arrested Mrs. Barbour and they stuffed her in the jail But they made an awfy big mistake, they let her oot on bail She went up tae all the factories on the Clyde and on the Cart They went intae the courthoose and they tore the place apart Mrs. Barbour’s Army brought the government right down tae their knees Wi an army dressed in pinnies backed by one in dungarees

See yon Arthur Henderson, heid bummer o the workin men When war broke oot he pressed his suit and ran tae catch the train He signed a deal in London, nae mair strikin until the war is done In Glasgow toon the word went roon'. Tak tent o' John Maclean. He said a bayonet, that's a weapon wi a working man at either end Betray your country, serve your class. Don't sign up for war my friend Don't sign up for war. He got ootside o Langside Hall and stood up at the fountain What he said was tailor-made tae magnify the friction Ye patriots can roar and bawl, it's nowt but braggarts fiction The only war worth fightin is the war against oppression. The polis wheeched him oot o there and doon tae Queens Park station They telt him plain offend again and we'll mak ye rue the day, son But Johnny didny turn a hair, he called for a demonstration A mighty thrang ten thoosand strang turned out against conscription The next time that they came for him, John kennt they meant the business He didny plea for mercy, he said gie me British justice The justice that they gave to him stunned many intae silence When oot o' hell the hammer fell, three years was the sentence. But the clamour tae release Maclean reached fever pitch and mair, man In a year an a half they they called it aff, but Christ it taxed him sare man He came back old afore his time, but he didny seem tae care man Say what ye want, he's still the one, that caused them tae beware man. The next time they released Maclean he'd came gey close tae scunnered Wi a rubber hose put up his nose they kept him swap suppert The spirit he awoke that day will never be surrendered, For the way he beat the government will always be remembered.

Tell me where ye’re goin, lad, and whom ye’re gonna meet, I’ll see you at the station that’s in Buchanan Street, I’ll join 200,000 that’s there to meet the train, That’s bringing back to Glasgow our own dear John Maclean. Dominae, Dominae, There was nane like John Maclean, The fightin dominae Tell me where he’s been, lad, and why has he been there? They’ve had him in the prison for preaching in the Square, For Johnny held a finger at all the ills he saw, He was the right side o the people, but the wrang side o the law Johnny was a teacher in one o Glasgow’s schools The golden law was silence but Johnny broke the rules, For a world of social justice, young Johnny couldny wait, He took his chalk and easel to the men at the shipyard gate. The leaders o the nation, they made money hand oer fist By grinding down the people by the fiddle and the twist, Aided and abetted by the preacher and the press, Johnny called for revolution and he called for nothing less. The bosses and the judges united as one man, For Johnny was a danger to their ’14-’18 plan, They needed men for slaughter in the fields of Armentiers, John called upon the people to smash the profiteers. Seven months he lingered in prison misery, Till the people rose in fury in Glasgow and Dundee, Lloyd George and all his cronies were shaken to their core, The prison gates were opened, and John was free once more.

To force the sea to stillness, Set a course of our own. Lay down our flags Gone is the need for empire To reach home again And in still waters to lay anchor To hear revolution from our prison Through these walls our world change As in the streets, a cry rings out, Not to the march of armies But to deny that we must go down with our nation Waves crash over our heads We can only stay afloat To act against those who fill our lungs With the glory of war

How can war just end With thousands left bereft Of work, home and safety How can this be victory Call out liars, and beg no more Destroy landlords, break your chains. So gather in the square That the empire might beware Arise against injustice From those that would oppress us