Joe McDonnell - Wolfe Tones

Wolfe Tones singing Joe McDonnell, song recorded 1983, from their album "A Sense of Freedom". Joe was the fourth to go on Hunger-strike and the fifth to die

Oh my name is Joe McDonnell
From Belfast town I came
That city I will never see again
For in the town of Belfast
I spent many happy days
And I loved that town in oh so many ways
For it's there I spent my childhood
And found for me a wife
I then set out to make for her a life
Oh but all my young ambition
Met with bitterness and hate
I soon found myself inside a prison gate

Chorus

And you dare to call me a terrorist
While you look down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you have done -
You have plundered many nations
Divided many lands
You have terrorized their people
You ruled with an iron hand
And you brought this reign of terror to my land

Through the many months internment
In the Maidstone and the Maze
I thought about my land throughout those days
Why my country was divided
Why I was now in jail
Imprisoned without crime or without trial
And though I love my country
I am not a bitter man
I've seen cruelty and injustice at first hand
And so one faithful morning
I shook bold freedom's hand
For right or wrong I tried to free my land

Then one cold October's morning
trapped in the lion's den
I found myself in prison once again
I was committed to the H-Blocks
For fourteen years or more
On the "blanket" there conditions they were poor
Then a hunger strike we did commence
For the dignity of man
But it seemed to me that no one gave a damn
but now I am a saddened man
I've watched my comrades die
If only people cared or wondered why

may God shine on you, Bobby Sands
For the courage you have shown
May your glory and your fame be widely known
And Francis Hughes and Ray McCreesh
Who died unselfishly
And Patsy O'Hara, and the next in line is me
And those who lie behind me
May your courage be the same
And I pray to god my life was not in vain

ah but sad and bitter was the year of 1981
for everything I've lost, and nothings won

Category:

Music

Tags:

• wolfe
• tones
• irish
• H-blocks
• song
• joe
• mcdonnell
• hungerstrike
• long
• kesh
• Rebel
• 1981
• celtic
• folk
• machree01
• maze
• Ireland

[machree01]

That was a mistake instead of writing Fifth I wrote down Fourth. The correct one is, he was the fourth to go on hunger-strike, and the fifth to die. I put it togather about 3 years ago. I was hurrying up that day.

[Thanabur]

this was the best song in history....it says everything..means a lot....im 4rm cork nd i love it...go on ireland..go on cork...fair play to machree..ledgeng... lilly...

[draoi1]

Great song, powerful and memorable video.

[ryanbr0wn1]

And you brought this rain of terror to My land! You orange bastards tiochfaidh ar la

[blackmountainboar]

(cont’d 3) ‘I think most of the resistance to the search was token but Joe’s was pricipled. In retrospect I would say Joe’s attitude to the search epitomised his life-he quite literally refused to bend.' R.I.P bravest Joe '81

[blackmountainboar]

(cont’d 2) ‘The more the prisoner resisted the more he would be kicked. Personally , they only had to give me a couple of kicks and I was down. This wasn’t that I had week legs in the physical sence; they were metaphorically weak.'

[blackmountainboar]

(cont’d) ‘He related to me incidents where Joe had fiercely resisted the mirror search. He admitted that to his knowledge that he never once succeeded in bending Joe’s legs. We refused to bend so they would kick the backs of our leg until they buckled.’

[blackmountainboar]

Jaz McCann (1994), ‘Joe McDonnell was one of the toughest people I have ever met. Years ago, while in conversation about old times with a screw from the Blanket days, the screw, with a hint of admiring respect, divulged that Joe was the toughest prisoner he had ever come across.'

[MrRock1331]

These men knew what they were getting into when they started ,knowing they could die because of the British's murdering ways.They still when along into it with their heads held high,fighting for their brothers along side them and giving up their families and freinds in this world.Now they protect from above looking down asking why we have not finished what they started.TAL!!!

[jjgcfc81]

hope SPL and other stadia realise this is not a sectarian song, its a politacal song.

it doesnt condemn death to any. religion alot of folk get this wrong, amazing anthem.

[machree01]

@eagleswarm88 I have put the lyrics into the description bar, you can read it now.

[oreilly4tbj]

@16881873 ur knowledge of Irish history is limited, poor and offensive as well as biased it is better to say nothing rather than to give bias misinformation.

[CerridwenOceanSoul]

Chills down me spine.