bonny sweet ireland


ireland ireland ireland
bonny sweet
ireland

and he tries to remember that
it s his crew
that they think
he s one of them
and he keeps his humour and laughs
and they laugh at him or with him

and it s ireland, ireland
bonny sweet

and they have a shore mission, and he walks among them
'who ll volunteer for the nice
little job of
carrying the explosives?'
and he stops in front of jack hammond
dear jack hammond
silly jack hammond
doesn t know his own uncle and wants to please him
and he sees the fear on jack hammond s face
jack hammond wouldn t die for ireland, no
there s an
english boy

damn english

it s good they don t have a silly
coward
like jack hammond
with the irish
aye, better luck

and he keeps on looking at silly
jack hammond
until the captain calls him away
saves his neck, the captain
and jack hammond will fail him like he failed his ireland
like his uncle didn t fail ireland

jack hammond is afraid and doesn t even
know
what there is to fear

and then there s styles, poor styles
vinegar and brown paper
perhaps he really felt sorry for styles, styles
whipped over and over with the cat of nine
pressed up against the grating
not half so sick on the beating
as sick for the captain s disappointment

ah well someday
styles will find out and so will the captain
and he ll apologise to his steward
well and good

ireland ireland ireland
bonny sweet
bonny sweet
bonny sweet and the meadows, with rainbows
and legends
pouring down out of the sky
ireland ireland
bonny sweet
ireland

skylarks
no proper skylarks in england

and the irish people will hold their own
and damn the english

bonny sweet

and he tells styles he won t be careless, and no styles won t

when jack hammond falls he isn t surprised
not a touch of it
jack hammond would die and jack hammond s a
coward

when styles beats him he expected that too
only proper revenge
even if it hurts like hell
styles isn t careless

but he never expected
old charlie hammond to fall
he knew jack hammond would die for
jack hammond s
a fool
but charlie hammond thought
the way he did:

ireland ireland ireland
bonny sweet
bonny sweet and the meadow
bonny sweet and the gold at the end of the rainbow
ireland ireland
bonny sweet
ireland

charlie hammond was a good man
and he blew his brains out
over
jack hammond
damn family ties
but he shudders
jack hammond was a coward, coward
charlie hammond was a good man

and at last long last at last
he stands on the deck of the captain s ship
not his captain
never his captain
and yet he looks at the boy and thinks 'captain'

not to be shot by the captain
to be shot by an irishman
where s that orrock, then?
orrock s a good irishman with his eyes and his voice
let the pistol be in orrock s hand

'i loath and despise everything
you represent'

damn boy

he takes his own pistol and he ll not be killed by
the captain
and they all shoot all at once
shots
a tenfold of pistol shots
as he falls he looks up at the executioners
ah good ah well and good
there s orrock

orrock s pistol smokes like any

he has blue eyes and he turns them on the captain
and the captain shot too
damn

and it s ireland, ireland, bonny sweet ireland
ireland
ireland
bonny sweet bonny sweet
bullets for ireland for bonny sweet
blood for ireland for bonny sweet
and life for ireland, for bonny sweet
bonny sweet ireland
it s ireland ireland

and charlie hammond s blood
and orrock s pistol shots
and even silly jack hammond the english boy
with his trained-away accent
and his cowardly running
why even jack hammond
once an irishman
with irish blood spilt on the sand
why every irishman in the damn fleet

it s ireland ireland
bonny sweet
bonny sweet
with rainbows in the meadows and potatoes to be
struck with famine
and loyal broken hearts to break
ireland ireland
bonny sweet
bonny
sweet
with leprechauns in the clover
and myths in the sleeves of the girls
and legends in the blankets of any child s cradle
ireland ireland
ireland

he has blue eyes and they blank in death
and he cannot breathe a single breath
and ireland loses another man
and if he couldn t free her no one can
for he loved her more than any brit
and dying isn t the half of it
the captain shot him with the rest
and the damn boy s bullet sticks in his breast

oh he has blue eyes and they blank as he dies
and no man who shot him could realise
his face twists with triumphs not with pains
and ireland another martyr gains

oh he has blue eyes and they blank and he s gone
but the words he whispered go on and on
he whispered once and at last died there
and his whisper spread wings and took to the air:

ireland ireland
bonny sweet
bonny sweet
ireland ireland and ireland
with her dreams and her aches and her hidden rage
and her peace and her story on some hillside page
with script of grass
and ink of tears
and rainbows of a thousand years
it s ireland ireland ireland
bonny sweet bonny sweet
ireland ireland
bonny sweet
with
meadows
and martyrs
and children s feet
and he died for her and he d die again
a thousand times a thousand men
and blood and lives and hearts and love
and freedom
freedom
freedom
ireland ireland
bonny sweet
bonny sweet
ireland.............................


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