Traditional Irish rebel and folk songs (lyrics)!

[Murphy]

The Rebel's Sermon

My brothers all, who hear me now,
Give ear to what I say;
The words are solemn that I speak
On this my dying day:
For Ireland´s love, for England´s hate,
I swore a solemn vow,
And if I swore it once before
I swear it ten times now!

For Ireland! For Ireland
Upon this drop I stand;
For Ireland, for Ireland,
My own native land!

Thrice blacker be the face of death,
Thrice brighter be the sky!
And yet for such a cause as this,
I´m well content to die!
I never knew what ´twas to fear,
And still I do not know;
And for the wrongs that tore my heart
I strove to deal a blow.

You´ll follow! You´ll follow!
The path I went before,
Like brave men, to save, men
Their old island shore!

I did the duty of a man;
I care for life no more;
If death will bring the cause some good,
Its stroke I won't deplore.
If one more throb of stern resolve
It raise in any breast,
If one more pulse of bitter hate
´Gainst England´s robber crest

´Tis welcome! ´Tis welcome!
Right merrily to me;
Victorious and glorious
The last hour I see!

And now the word I´d leave behind
Is Vengeance! Vengeance still!
O´er every plain I´d ring it out,
On every lofty hill.
Who cares a straw for life and limb
Deserves not to be free;
Who thinks of caution or of fear
Will frighten liberty.

Still daring, uncaring,
For all the might of man,
There is no other way, my boys,
To carry out your plan!

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Henry Joy

An Ulster man I an proud to say from the Antrim Glens I come
Although I labored by the sea I followed fife and drum
I have heard the martial tramp of men; I've seen men fight and die
Ah! lads I well remember when I followed Henry Joy

I pulled my boat up from the sea I hid my sail away
I hung my nets on a greenwood tree and I scanned the moonlit bay
The boys were out, and the "Redcoats" too - I kissed my wife good-bye
And in the shade of the greenwood glade, sure I followed Henry Joy

In Antrim Town the tyrant stood, he tore our ranks with ball
But with a cheer and a pike to clear we swept the o'er the wall
Our pikes and sabers flashed that day - we won, but lost, ah why
No matter lads, I fought beside, and shielded Henry Joy

Ah! boys, for Ireland's cause we fought, for her and home we bled
Though pikes were few still our hearts beat true, and five to one lay dead
But many a lassie mourned her lad and mother mourned her boy
For youth was strong in that gallant throng, who followed Henry Joy

In Belfast Town they built a tree, and the Redcoats mustered there
I watched them come at the beat of the drum, rolled out from the barrack square
He kissed his sister and went aloft, he bade a last good-bye
"My God, he died," sure I turned and cried, "They have murdered Henry Joy!"

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Ireland Unfree

n a dimly lit room by the smouldering fire
Sat an old man so lonely so sad and so tired
Once he struggled for freedom, now he struggles to live
With his few small possessions and his past to relive

And his thoughts wander back to the days of his prime
Oh it seems now there´s nothing goes faster than time
To his comrades of old he remembers the day
When he marched behind Pearse and the bold IRA

There´s a faded old picture on the wall all alone
A dusty old picture, the pride of his home
With a harp and a shamrock with these words underneath
"Ireland unfree shall never be at peace"

And it´s to Easter week and his thoughts wander back
Oh those leaders of men sure no courage did lack
But now he´s just left with his memories of old
For his name nor his story will never be told

There´s a faded old picture on the wall all alone
A dusty old picture, the pride of his home
With a harp and a shamrock with these words underneath
"Ireland unfree shall never be at peace"

He gazed at that picture and gave a sad smile
For each wrinkle and line told the struggle of time
Then he gazed once again and his eyes filled with tears
For the man in that picture was his friend Padraic Pearse

There´s a faded old picture on the wall all alone
A dusty old picture, the pride of his home
With a harp and a shamrock with these words underneath
"Ireland unfree shall never be at peace"

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

A Rebel Song

Come workers, sing a rebel song, a song of love and hate,
Of love unto the lowly, and of hatred to the great
The great who trod our fathers down, who steal our childrens bread,
Whose hand of greed is stretched to rob the living and the dead

Then sing our rebel song, as we proudly sweep along
To end the age-long tyranny that makes for human tears
Our march is nearer done with each setting of the sun,
And the tyrants might is passing with the passing of the years.

We sing no song of wailing, and no song of sights or tears,
High are our hopes and stout our hearts, and banished all our fears
Our flag is raised above us so that all the world may see
'Tis Labour's faith and Labours arm alone can labour free.

Out from the depths of misery we march with hearts aflame,
With wrath against the rulers false who wreck our menhoods name
The serf who licks his tyrants rod may bend forgiving knee.
The slave who breaks his slaverys chain a wrathful man must be.

Our army marches onward with its face towards the dawn,
In trust secure in that one thing the slave may lean upon,
The might within the arm of him who, knowing freedom's worth,
Strikes home to banish tyranny from off the face of earth

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Irish Soldier Laddie

Twas a morning in July, I was walking to Tipperary
When I heard a battle cry from the mountains over head
As I looked up in the sky I saw an Irish soldier laddie
He looked at me right fearlessly and said:

Will ye stand in the band like a true Irish man
And go and fight the forces of the crown?
Will ye march with O'Neill to an Irish battle field?
For tonight we go to free old Wexford town!

Said I to that soldier boy,
"Won't you take me to your captain
T'would be my pride and joy for to march with you today
My young brother fell in Cork and my son at Enniscorthy!"
Unto the noble captain I did say:

I will stand in the band like a true Irish man
And go and fight the forces of the crown
I will march with O'Neill to an Irish battle field
For tonight we go to free old Wexford town!

As we marched back from the field in the shadow of the evening
With our banners flying low to the memory of our dead
We returned unto our homes but without my soldier laddie
Yet I never will forget those words he said:

Will ye stand in the band like a true Irish man
And go and fight the forces of the crown?
Will ye march with O'Neill to an Irish battle field?
For tonight we go to free old Wexford town!

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Men Behind The Wire

Armoured cars and tanks and guns
Came to take away our sons
But every man must stand behind
The men behind the wire

Through the little streets of Belfast
In the dark of early morn
British soldiers came marauding
Wrecking little homes with scorn

Heedless of the crying children
Cragging fathers from their beds
Beating sons while helpless mothers
Watched the blood poor from their heads

Not for them a judge and jury
Nor indeed a trial at all
But being Irish means you´re guilty
So we´re guilty one and all

Round the world the truth will echo
Cromwell´s men are here again
England´s name again is sullied
In the eyes of honest men.

Proud we march behind our banner
Firm we´ll stand behind our men
We will have them free to help us
Build a nation once again

On the people step together
Proudly firmly on their way
Never fear never falter
Till the boys are home to stay

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Irish Ways And Irish Laws

Once upon a time there was
Irish ways and Irish laws,
Villages of Irish blood
Waking to the morning,
Waking to the morning.

Then the Vikings came around,
Turned us up and turned us down,
Started building boats and towns,
And tried to change our living,
They tried to change our living.

Cromwell and his soldiers came,
Started centuries of shame,
But they could not make us turn,
We are a river flowing,
We are a river flowing.

Again, again the soldiers came,
Burnt our houses, stole our grain.
Shot the farmers in the fields
Working for a living,
Working for a living.

800 years we have been down,
The secret of the water sound
Has kept the spirit of a man
Above the pain descending,
Above the pain descending.

Today the struggle carries on,
I wonder will I live so long
To see the gates been opened up
To a people and their freedom,
To a people and their saoirse
To a people and their freedom

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

The West's Awake

When all beside a vigil keep,
The West's asleep, the West's asleep -
Alas! and well may Erin weep
When Connacht lies in slumber deep.
There lake and plain smile fair and free,
'Mid rocks their guardian chivalry.
Sing, Oh ! let man learn liberty
From crashing wind and lashing sea.

That chainless wave and lovely land
Freedom and nationhood demand;
Be sure the great God never planned
For slumb'ring slaves a home so grand.
And long a brave and haughty race
Honoured and sentinelled the place.
Sing, Oh! not even their sons' disgrace
Can quite destroy their glory's trace.

For often, in O'Connor's van,
To triumph dashed each Connacht clan.
And fleet as deer the Normans ran
Thro' Corrsliabh Pass and Ardrahan;
And later times saw deeds as brave,
And glory guards Clanricard's grave,
Sing, Oh! they died their land to save
At Aughrim's slopes and Shannon's wave.

And if, when all a vigil keep,
The West's asleep! the West's asleep!
Alas! and well may Erin weep
That Connacht lies in s1umber deep.
But, hark! a voice like thunder spake,
The West's awake! the West's awake!
Sing, Oh! hurrah! let England quake,
We'll watch till death for Erin's sake

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Kevin Barry

In Mountjoy Jail one Monday morning,
High upon the gallows tree,
Kevin Barry gave his young life
For the cause of liberty.
Just a lad of eighteen summers,
Yet no one can deny,
As he walked to death that morning
He proudly held his head on high.

Just before he faced the hangman,
In his dreary prison cell,
British soldiers tortured Barry
Just because he would not tell
The names of his brave comrades,
And other things they wished to know,
'Turn informer and we'll free you!'
Kevin Barry answered 'No!'

Calmly standing to attention,
As he bade his last farewell
To his broken-hearted mother,
Whose sad grief no one can tell,
For the cause he proudly cherished
This sad parting had to be;
Then to death walked, softly smiling,
That old Ireland might be free.

Another martyr for old Ireland,
Another murder for the crown,
Brutal laws may kill the Irish,
But can't keep their spirit down.
Lads like Barry are no cowards,
From their foe they will not fly;
Lads like Barry will free Ireland,
For her sake they live and die.

Regards,
Eóin.

[Murphy]

Long Kesh

There is a place just outside Lisburn
It´s a place that´s known to few
Where a group of Irish rebels
Are held by Faulkner´s crew
There are forced to live in cages
Like the inmates of Bellevue
But the spirit of 1916
Will always see them through

The men in this vile place
They come from far and near
Some from the Derry Bogside
And Omagh town so near
And some of them from Belfast
From the Markets and the Falls
From the narrow streets of Ardoyne
And all around Tyrone

On that black day in August
When Faulkner showed his hand
He thought that by internment
He could break our gallant band
But the boys from Ballymurphy
How they showed the way that night
How they taught those English soldiers
How Irishmen could fight

Long Kesh it´s known to everyone
The system must be broke
Ardoyne, the New Lodge and the Falls
Will see the system choke
No more the Special Powers Act
Those fiends they will invoke
And Long Kesh will be the U stone
On which the system´s broke

A word now Irish people
No matter where you are
Remember our brave rebels
In Long Kesh this year
And by civil disobedience
Or any other way
Let's make a stand until the day
Each one of them are free

Regards,
Eóin.