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MEAGHER IS LEADING THE IRISH BRIGADE You, true sons of Erin, awake from your slumbers! The war blast is sounding o'er valley and hill; Too long you have slept in the bed of affliction.. Your moans pierce my heart, like a murmuring rill; Your leaders were banished: yet hope has not left you, Though firmly bound by the Conqueror's chain, So, draw your swords quickly, while strength has been left you, And make one bold dash for your freedom again! Cho: You true Sons of Erin, awake from your slumbers! No longer leave Tyrants your valleys invade.. Let the long silent Harp vibrate its loud numbers; Now Meagher is leading the Irish Brigade. Oh! how can you slumber, submissively yielding, While the Eagle of Freedom shrieks loud in the air, And on strange battle-fields you your sabers are wielding? No heroes or chieftain more noble are there; On history's pages your fame is recorded; Yet the proud Saxon traitor your green hills pollute, And trampled the flag which they should have regarded, So, strike for your freedom at tyrant's root. What monster could look upon Erin's blue mountains And view the gray fog looming up in the air.. Or sit, for a while, by her bright crystal fountains, Without adding a tear of pure sympathy there?.. Or see her grand Castles with ivy surrounded, Where now the lone cry of the night Owl is heard, As her beautiful rivers with echo resounded, To answer the voice of the romantic birds?.. The famed Robert Emmett by perjury smitten, His cold blooded murder all nations could see: Now it's time that his Epitaph should have been written, And Erin once more be great, glorious and free; With the worthy McManus, that Patriot martyr, Cold, cold in the grave, though their ashes remain: Yet their spirits forewarn the time is growing shorter, When Erin's Green Banner will float o'er the main. Remember the siege of sweet Limerick fair city, When Sarsfield encountered the balance of power; And her heroic daughters, both loyal and witty, Saluted their foes with a hot boiling shower; Is such Patriotism so easy forgotten, While the blood of our forefathers courses thro' our veins? No! their glory exists, though their bones may be rotten, To conquer our foes yet as Brian did the Danes "H.De Marsan, Publishers, 54 Chatham St., N.Y." is the only inscription at the b ottom of this "broadside," or lyric sheet. This company printed hundreds of broa dsides during the Civil War, and only a scant few list date or author. The aesth etic design of the sheet, and its lyrical content leave no doubt of its time per iod: that of the early 1860's. It did list, fortunately, the melody to which the words were written: "The Shamrock Shore." As one might imagine, there are sever al songs with this title, and the one I felt worked the best was also found in P .W. Joyce's "Old Irish Folk Music." Its interesting that only one phrase in the lyric, "the Eagle of Freedom shrieks loud in the air," makes even the vaguest re ference to the American conflict, attesting to the fact many in the ranks of the Irish Brigade viewed the unit's formation as being primarily for the liberation of Ireland. Col. Kenneth Powers, historian of the 69th New York, was kind enoug h to provide me with copies of this and several other broadsides from the regime nt's extensive archives, for which I am eternally grateful. recorded by DAVID KINCAID on THE IRISH VOLUNTEER - SONGS OF THE IRISH UNION SOLD IER 1861-65 All songs traditional, arranged by David Kincaid; Copyright (c) 1995 by Haunted Field Music (BMI), except "Free And Green" composed by Carl Funk and David Kincaid; which is Copyright (c) 1980 by Haunted Field Music/Guemes Music (BMI). filename[ MEAGBRIG XX |
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