Tom Paxton
On the Road from Srebrenica
On the road from Srebrenica
I saw a woman with two babies and one broken arm
She could only carry one
And one would have to stay behind to quickly die
The gunmen shouted orders
And the woman started moving down the road
While the baby in the blanket
Lying in the muddy ditch began to cry

On the road, on the road from Srebrenica
Blackbirds fly, blackbirds flying overhead
Cry no mercy, on the road from Srebrenica
Where there´s no one left alive to count the dead

On the road from Srebrenica
I saw the men all pulled aside and marched away
While their women screamed in terror
All the men went down the pathway to the trees
The sound of guns was muffled by the forest
But the shots went on and on
While the soldiers pushed the women to keep moving
And the rain began to freeze

On the road, on the road from Srebrenica
Blackbirds fly, blackbirds flying overhead
Cry no mercy, on the road from Srebrenica
Where there´s no one left alive to count the dead
On the road from Srebrenica
Trudged an old men who was bent and stooped and frail
It seemed all hope was gone
I thought he´d never make a mile, but I was wrong
He seemed to have no spirit
Till he passed the ditch and heard the baby cry
Then he picked the baby up
And in the swirling smoke and flames, he moved along

On the road, on the road from Srebrenica
Blackbirds fly, blackbirds flying overhead
Cry no mercy, on the road from Srebrenica
Where there´s no one left alive to count the dead