you really have a knack for words good sir

The piece "Over the Hills and Far Away" is ancient, most often however associated with the 1700's and Napoleonics, which is probably why it was used as the theme for Sharpe's Rifles. However, the version you listed (a Nightswish cover) was written by Gary Moore and produced in 1987 with a more Republican Irish sentiment despite its origins as an English soldier's song. I originally intended then to write it as a 1900's piece and associate the male character's capture with the 1913 uprising, but I was running low of content so I put in content on Bobby Sands and Maze Prison, which updated it to the 1960's. With that in mind the reason the young lady wouldn't want her association revealed is because the Catholic church still takes a dim view of adultry and women who are unvirtuous tend to suffer - being impoverished in northern ireland is bad enough without being unable to recieve civic aid. I also worked in some sly references to two other republican songs: "Whiskey in the Jar", which was covered by Metallica most recently, and a lesser known song whose artist I can't recall the name of called "The Prince of Darkness" about Scottish and Irish miners. The quality really is in the subtext.

... and... thank you for that ^.^

The amout of detail you put into this amazed me. ^^; My entry is so much more emotional, and so less.. accurate. *laughs* I really really love what you did here.