The Battle of Tirad Pass

Arise soldiers! And repel that foreign force That dares to bring us back to what was our sorrow's source Let them not bring us back to the years of bondage and pain We yearn for freedom and not slavery that we disdain Every man here at Tirad Pass must stand Wishing for death to save our motherland Gregorio del Pilar, the general looking with a sigh Beside the pole where our banner's flying high It was morning and the sun up overhead, Was slowly rising and waiting for the dead Then they came, the American boys climbing up the hill While our hero soldiers hid and waiting for the kill A rain of bullets fell on the invaders and they were forced to flee While the Filipino soldiers stood in triumph, celebrating in glee But behind the hill was another band on a hidden trail And that glorious victory will soon be called a fail The Filipinos looked in terror as bullets rained from behind When guarding that hidden trail, the soldiers were all blind All the guns were roaring, smoke was rising high As the gallant Filipinos all began to die What a nightmare it is to independence's name Yet we must honor it with glory, and not remember it with shame The blood has washed from the grass But not the memory of Tirad Pass!