Traditional Irish rebel and folk songs (lyrics)!

[Murphy]

Every forum needs one of these ! Post the lyrics to your favourite Irish tunes here!

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

A Nation Once Again

When boyhood's fire was in my blood
I read of ancient freemen,
For Greece and Rome who bravely stood,
Three hundred men and three men;
And then I prayed I yet might see
Our fetters rent in twain,
And Ireland, long a province, be.
A Nation once again!

A Nation once again,
A Nation once again,
And lreland, long a province, be
A Nation once again!

And from that time, through wildest woe,
That hope has shone a far light,
Nor could love's brightest summer glow
Outshine that solemn starlight;
It seemed to watch above my head
In forum, field and fane,
Its angel voice sang round my bed,
A Nation once again!

It whisper'd too, that freedom's ark
And service high and holy,
Would be profaned by feelings dark
And passions vain or lowly;
For, Freedom comes from God's right hand,
And needs a Godly train;
And righteous men must make our land
A Nation once again!

So, as I grew from boy to man,
I bent me to that bidding
My spirit of each selfish plan
And cruel passion ridding;
For, thus I hoped some day to aid,
Oh, can such hope be vain ?
When my dear country shall be made
A Nation once again!

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

The Sash

Sure l'm an Ulster Orangeman, from Erin's isle I came,
To see my British brethren all of honour and of fame,
And to tell them of my forefathers who fought in days of yore,
That I might have the right to wear, the sash my father wore!

It is old but it is beautiful, and its colours they are fine
It was worn at Derry, Aughrim, Enniskillen and the Boyne.
My father wore it as a youth in bygone days of yore
And on the Twelfth I love to wear the sash my father wore

For those brave men who crossed the Boyne have not fought or died in vain
Our Unity, Religion, Laws, and Freedom to maintain,
If the call should come we'll follow the drum, and cross that river once more
That tomorrow's Ulsterman may wear the sash my father wore!

It is old but it is beautiful, and its colours they are fine
It was worn at Derry, Aughrim, Enniskillen and the Boyne.
My father wore it as a youth in bygone days of yore
And on the Twelfth I love to wear the sash my father wore

And when some day, across the sea to Antrim's shore you come,
We'll welcome you in royal style, to the sound of flute and drum
And Ulster's hills shall echo still, from Rathlin to Dromore
As we sing again the loyal strain of the sash my father wore!

It is old but it is beautiful, and its colours they are fine
It was worn at Derry, Aughrim, Enniskillen and the Boyne.
My father wore it as a youth in bygone days of yore
And on the Twelfth I love to wear the sash my father wore

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Belfast Brigade

Craigavon sent the Specials out,
To shoot the people down,
He thought the IRA were dead,
In dear old Belfast town,
But he got a rude awakening,
With cannon and grenade,
When he met the first Batallion,
Of the Belfast Brigade.

Glory, glory to old Ireland,
Glory, glory to this island,
Glory to the memory of the men
Who fought and died,
"No surrender" is the war cry of
The Belfast Brigade.

The soldiers came from Holywood,
Equipped with English guns,
There were men by the thousand,
Ammunition by the ton,
But when they got to Belfast,
They were seriously delayed,
By the fighting First Batallion
Of the Belfast Brigade.

We have no ammunition,
Or no armoured tanks to show,
But we're ready to defend ourselves,
No matter where we go,
We're out for our Republic,
And to hell with your Free State,
"No surrender" is the War cry
Of the Belfast Brigade.

Come all you gallant Irishmen,
And join the IRA
We'll strike a blow for freedom,
When it comes a certain day,
You know your country's History,
And the sacrifice it made,
Come join the First Batallion
Of the Belfast Brigade.

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Only Our Rivers Run Free

When apples still grow in November
When Blossoms still bloom from each tree
When leaves are still green in December
It's then that our land will be free
I wander her hills and her valleys
And still through my sorrow I see
A land that has never known freedom
And only her rivers run free

I drink to the death of her manhood
Those men who'd rather have died
Than to live in the cold chains of bondage
To bring back their rights were denied
Oh where are you now when we need you
What burns where the flame used to be
Are ye gone like the snows of last winter
And will only our rivers run free?

How sweet is life but we're crying
How mellow the wine but it's dry
How fragrant the rose but it's dying
How gentle the breeze but it sighs
What good is in youth when it's aging
What joy is in eyes that can't see
When there's sorrow in sunshine and flowers
And still only our rivers run free

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Aiden McAnespie

Twas on a Sunday evening the sun was in the sky
As he walked his way to the Gaelic pitch never thinking he was going to die
But as he crossed the checkpoint the sound of gunfire came
The news spread through the border town Aiden McAnespie was slain

For years he was harassed by the forces of the crown
As he went to his work every day he left his native town
The soldiers swore they´d get him the reason no one can say
And sure enough they murdered him in cold blood that sunny day

Oh why did you do it?
Have you not the guts to say
You say it was an accident or even a ricochet
But like Loughgall and Gibraltar you´re lies are well renowned
You murdered Aiden McAnespie on his way to the Gaelic ground

The people heard the gunfire they came from miles around
They saw that you man lying there dying on the ground
His flow of life was ebbing fast and people they tried their best
That bullet wound it was far to deep it went right through his chest

Oh why did you do it?
Have you not the guts to say
You say it was an accident or even a ricochet
But like Loughgall and Gibraltar you´re lies are well renowned
You murdered Aiden McAnespie on his way to the Gaelic ground

Aidens life had ended it was time for judgement day
The soldier he jumped down from the tower and the coward he slipped away
God´s curse on you Britannia for this cruel deed you´ve done
But god will have his final say when your judgement day it comes

Oh why did you do it?
Have you not the guts to say
You say it was an accident or even a ricochet
But like Loughgall and Gibraltar you´re lies are well renowned
You murdered Aiden McAnespie on his way to the Gaelic ground

To say it was an accident is the greatest crime of all
To his heart-broken family the worst had `er befalled
A cross it marks the lonely spot where Aiden was gunned down
As he strolled on that sunny evening on his way to the Gaelic ground

Oh why did you do it?
Have you not the guts to say
You say it was an accident or even a ricochet
But like Loughgall and Gibraltar you´re lies are well renowned
You murdered Aiden McAnespie on his way to the Gaelic ground

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

The Fenian Record Player

Wee Willie John McFadden was a loyal Orange Prod
Who thought that Ian Paisley was just one step down from God
He scorned the little children, in the backstreets of Ardoyne
And he thought that history started with the Battle of the Boyne
And he thought that history started with the Battle of the Boyne

One day he took a brick in his hands and dandered up the Falls
He was mumbling "Up the Rangers" and hummin' Derry's Walls
He broke a big shop window to annoy the Pope of Rome
He took the record player and then he started home
He took the record player and then he started home

Next night they had a hooley at the local Orange Hall
Wee Willie took his player to make music for the ball
He chose a stack of records of a very loyal kind
But when the music started he nearly lost his mind
But when the music started he nearly lost his mind

This Fenian record player was a rebel to the core
It played out songs the Orange Hall had never heard before
For Dolly's Brae and Derry's Walls it didn't give a fig
It speeded up God Save the Queen till it sounded like a jig
It speeded up God Save the Queen till it sounded like a jig

Well the boys were plain demented, to the ground Wee Will was thrown
They kicked his ribs in one by one to the tune of Garryowen
They threw him out the window to a song about Sinn Fein
They kicked him all down Sandy Row to a Nation Once Again
They kicked him all down Sandy Row to a Nation Once Again

Wee willie's up in the mental home, crazy as a coot
He sits there in a padded cell and tootles on his flute
But when he tries to play The Sash, he always gets it wrong
for half-way through he always finds he's playing The Soldier's Song

There's a moral to this story, what it is I cannot say
Oh maybe its the ancient words that "crime it will never pay"
If you ask Wee Willie McFadden, he'll say "You're kind, you know"
If you want to pinch a record player, do it up the Shankill Road
If you want to pinch a record player, do it up the Shankill Road

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Flight of Earls

I can hear the bells of Dublin in this lonely waiting room
And the paperboys are singin' in the rain
Not too long before they take us to the airport and the noise
To get on board a transatlantic plane
We've got nothin' left to stay for,We had no more left to say
And there isn't any work for us to do
So farewell ye boys and girls; Another bloody Flight of Earls
Our best asset is our best export, too....

It's not murder, fear or famine that makes us leave this time
We're not going to join McAlpine's Fusileers
We've got brains, and we've got visions; we've got education, too!
But we just can't throw away these precious years
So we walk the streets of London, And the streets of Baltimore
And we meet at night in several Boston bars
We're the leaders of the future but we're far away from home
And we dream of you beneath the Irish stars

As we look on Ellis Island, and the Lady in the bay
And Manhattan turns to face another Sunday
We just wonder what you're doing to bring us all back home
As we look forward to another Monday
Because it's not the work that scares us,we don't mind an honest job,
and we know things will get better once again
So a thousand times adieu, We've got Bono and U2
All we're missin' is the Guinness, and the rain

So switch off your new computers cause the writing's on the wall
We're leaving as our fathers did before
Take a look at Dublin airport, or the boat that leaves North Wall
There'll be no Youth Unemployment any more
Because we're over here in Queensland,And in parts of New South Wales
We're on the seas and airwaysand the trains
But if we see better days,Those big airplanes go both ways
And we'll all be comin' back to you again!

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Fighting Men from Crossmaglen

Oh I'll sing a song,
Of the bravest men!
That famous fighting unit from Armagh
They are the men,
From Crossmaglen,
Amongst the bravest Irelands ever saw

In Crossmaglen,
The fire burns true.
The patriotic flame will never die.
And when you hear the battle cry
It will be the fighting men from Crossmaglen

At night you hear,
Bazookas roar,
Armalites are heard across the land.
The IRA,
Their spirits soar
They know the reckonin has come to hand

In Crossmaglen,
The fire burns true.
The patriotic flame will never die.
And when you hear the battle cry
It will be the fighting men from Crossmaglen

The British scum,
They do fear,
Never again they'll see their cursed shore.
Because they know
They'll pay dear,
And the RA will even Irelands bloody score.

In Crossmaglen,
The fire burns true.
The patriotic flame will never die.
And when you hear the battle cry
It will be the fighting men from Crossmaglen

We'll not give up!
Oh Will we fuck!
Until we're free!
Until Irelands out of British hands.
We'll never rest,
Until we see,
The tyrants rule driven from our land

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Four Green Fields

What did I have, said the fine old woman
What did I have, this proud old woman did say
I had four green fields, each one was a jewel
But strangers came and tried to take them from me
I had fine strong sons, who fought to save my jewels
They fought and they died, and that is my grief said she

Long time ago, said the fine old woman
Long time ago, this proud old woman did say
There was war and death, plundering and pillage
My people died, by mountain, valley and stream
And their wailing cries, they reached the very heavens
and my four green fields ran red with their blood, said she

What have I now, said the fine old woman
What have I now, this proud old woman did say
I have four green fields, one of them's in bondage
In stranger's hands, that tried to take it from me
But my sons they have sons, as brave as were their fathers
and my fourth green field will bloom once again said she

Regards,
Eóin.