Lyrics of 'Strong Women Rule Us All' by Dick Gaughan

There's a moment of your story that has always haunted me
When you set out in yon open boat to help the poor man flee
Was Chairlie Stewart's future already plain to see?
Did you know he'd be a waster all his days?

But if you did, I'd give the world to find
A single tear you cried
From the Cuillins tae the Carolinas
You showed us one and all
The courage you could call
From the tears that would not fall
From your eyes

And after thirty years after all that you'd been through
Was the thought of "bonnie Chairlie" just a memory to rue
As you watched your husband putting on his coat of scarlet hue
To go and fight for German Geordie's Crown

But you never tried to hide behind
The dreams of days gone by
From the Cuillins tae the Carolinas
You showed us one and all
The courage you could call
From the tears that would not fall
From your eyes

And there's times I think I see you when I find the kind of face
Where a woman's independence has kept a woman's grace
Where confidence and pride refuse to know their place
Or hide behind the easy tricks of beauty

For to me your life's a light that shines
Across the stormy skies
From the Cuillins tae the Carolinas
You showed us one and all
The courage you could call
From the tears that would not fall
From your eyes

From the Cuillins tae the Carolinas
Strong women rule us all
With the courage that they call
When the tears refuse to fall
From their eyes