Listen to the track:
Lament for David Welsh
In March 1915 at Fort Rennie in Wembury parish, Private David Welsh of the Highland Light Infantry was killed when a rifle fired by his friend Private Robert Laird shot through a door Welsh had just passed through. Laird said that he believed the rifle held a dummy cartridge. The inquest returned accidental death after Robert Laird was accused of the killing and the Grand Jury believed his story, throwing out the bill. A tragic true story of carelessness, loss, and a life ended far from battle.
[Verse 1]
At Fort Rennie by the door
On a cold March afternoon
David Welsh stepped out in daylight
And was taken far too soon
No battle cry, no warning
No thunder from the sky
Only one rash shot behind him
And a young man fell to die
[Chorus]
He walked through the door into the day
And never saw night fall
One reckless shot through wood and air
And death outran them all
Though Fort Rennie now is gone
And that old door is dust
The tale lives on by Wembury’s edge
As sorrowful tales must
[Verse 2]
They said there was no quarrel
No anger, no ill will
Only talk around a rifle
Then a moment standing still
A dummy round was spoken of
A thing believed harmless
But the shot went through the timber
And struck him through the chest
[Chorus]
He walked through the door into the day
And never saw night fall
One reckless shot through wood and air
And death outran them all
Though Fort Rennie now is gone
And that old door is dust
The tale lives on by Wembury’s edge
As sorrowful tales must
[Bridge]
The jury called it accident
The court let silence stand
But no word spoken afterwards
Could bring him home again
[Final Chorus]
He walked through the door into the day
And never saw night fall
One reckless shot through wood and air
And death outran them all
Though Fort Rennie now is gone
And that old door is dust
The tale lives on by Wembury’s edge
As sorrowful tales must