by Daniel Kelly – 2023

          Em   G        D    Em
I was a working man in London town,
          C         G    D              Em
But the call it came to fight for the crown,
Em             C         D            G
For a roguish empire, I’d no wish to die,
     Em        G      D     Em
So I fled to Dublin, by and by.

Now the rebels they had Easter plans,
In 1916 when it all began,
I threw in my lot, with James Connolly,
A Worker of the World like me,

     G               D
It’s not my war, it’s not my land,
        Em       D       C         D
But in freedom’s name, I’ll take a stand,
     Em     G       D         G
And if by chance, I’m doomed to fall,
     Am             G         D
I am proud to have answered the call,
      Am            D         G
I am proud to have answered the call,

On Monday morn, I took the oath,
Of the Citizen’s Army, at the Post,
A Jew amongst Protestants, Catholics to,
Fighting for a country new.

Then England rained the fire down,
They shelled us to hell in Dublin town,
There was death by every street and wall,
Those heroes who answered freedoms call,

But the sacrifice of Woman and Man,
Sparked the nations heart again,
For an Ireland free, from the tyrant’s blade,
Is the legacy these heroes made