The above clip is 'Fields of Athenry'
By the Dropkick Murphy's'
The following Lyrics are from a Traditional Irish (Rebel) song, they refer to the times during the Great Potato Famine in Ireland, and the punishment bestowed upon anyone who dared to steal crops or such from the English Landlords at the time. These were harsh times for the Irish, The only staple food they had to reply on in quantity was the humble potato, which unfortunately was blighted by some disease during this time. Almost all the farms where under English rule by self imposed English or Irish Landlords who had orders to deal out harsh punishment to anyone who did not head they're rule of law.
Anyone who disobeyed risked having they're home raised to the ground or worse still; the man of the house would be exiled to what we now know to be Australia aboard a prison ship. It was during this time, that the great exodus of Irish headed to the United States of America seeking a better life.
The song is titled...
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Fields of Athenry
By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young girl calling,
Michael, they have taken you away.
For you stole Travelian's corn,
So the young might see the morn,
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay."
Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small freebirds fly.
Our love was on the wing,
We had dreams and songs to sing
As we wandered through the fields of Athenry.
By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young man calling
"Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free
Against the famine and the crown,
I rebelled, they cut me down,
Now you must raise our child with dignity.
Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small freebirds fly.
Our love was on the wing,
We had dreams and songs to sing
As we wandered through the fields of Athenry.
On the windswept harbour wall,
She watched the last star falling
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky
But she'll watch and hope and pray,
For her love in Botany Bay
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.
Yes it's lonely round the fields of Athenry.
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If you would like to hear the Traditional version of this song
click the link below.
Fields of Athenry hy 'The Dubliners'
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