The James Connolly Songbook Cork Workers Club October 1972 No revolutionary movement is complete without its poetical expression. If such a movement has caught hold of the imagination of the masses, they will seek a vent in song for the aspirations, the fears and hopes, the loves and hatreds engendered by the struggle. Until the movement is marked by the joyous, defiant, singing of revolutionary songs, it lacks one of the distinctive marks of a popular revolutionary movement - it is a dogma of a few, and not the faith of the multitude---James Connolly (Introduction to Songs of Freedom, New York, 1907. O SLAVES OF TOIL When man shall stand erect at last, And drink at Wisdom's fountain, And to the earth in scorn shall cast The chains his limbs are bound in Then from his loins a race shall spring Fit peer of gods and heroes O, blest be they whose efforts bring That day and hour more near us Chorus: O, Slaves of toil, no craven fear, Nor dread of fell disasters Need daunt ye now, then up, and clear The earth of lords and masters Like brazen serpent raised on high In Israelite tradition Our cause in each believing eye, When slavery's abolition, We see the day when man shall rise, And, firm on science building, From Theft's thick mask of fraud and lies Stript all the specious gilding chorus O, blest are they whom wind and tide Are wafting fortune's graces And blest the man whose blushing bride Returns his rapt embraces, And blest is he who has a friend To shield his name when slandered But blest o'er all they who contend And march in Freedom's vanguard chorus
AROUSE! Arouse! The rallying cry Sends its chorus up on high, Let craven cowards fly To the rear While we rally to the fight To our combat for the Right And Oppression put to flight We swear, For tyrants we have fought, And our blood (their gold has bought), They have laished, caring naught, In red streams, But the fight we have begun, On this earth shall ne'er be done Till the light of Freedom's sun On us gleams. At our lot might angels weep While we toil our master sleep, What we make our masters keep, And our gains, Are the wage--to buy our food, The poor shelter for our brood, And the fever which our blood Ever Drains By our toil they keep their state, On our woes they rise, elate, Yet wonder when our hate To them ascends Where we build they enter in, What we earn those spoilers win, But we swear our slavery's sin Soon shall end, The arouse! ye workers all, Braving scaffold, sword and ball, And at Labour's trumpet call Quick appear, For the day we long have sought, For which our fathers fought- The day with Freedom fraught Now is here!
FOR LABOUR'S RIGHT Up brothers up! The drums are beating, And see on high the banners wave, Close up your ranks let no retreating Be ours while earth contains a slave Till all alike our triumph won Behold the spendour of the sun, And drink of wisdom's holiest spring, This is the prize our armies bring Chorus: A holy war for Labour's right A holy war for Labour's right, For labour's cause for labour's cause, Shall win, shall win----the fight O, Brothers, we whose hosts uncounted Must toil to earn a scanty wage Whose backs were bent that robbers mounted Might ride thereon from age to age No longer now in thraldom grown Your strong right hand must make your own And by that act to manhood spring! This is the prize our armies bring! chorus The tyrant hopes a conquering sword Shall stem the onward march of right But truth o'er all their barbarous horde Leads Freedom's host to Freedom's height! To break the sword of War and Pain That Peace and Joy o'er Earth may reign And conquering hosts of Labour sing-- This is the prize our armies bring! chorus
THE MESSAGE (air-Sean O Duibir an Gleanna) Our message send again Pealing thro hill and glen, Freedom from dread of want, From hunger, lean and gaunt From all the ills that daunt And keep us in thrall, Up on the mountain side Far o'er the ocean tide Circling the world wide That message is borne Bringing to those whose hearts Are neeth the strings and darts Bondage to man imparts Hope of Freedom's morn. Morning when all shall rise And face, with gladdened eyes, The truth what Freedom lies In Labour's arms alone Labour, which makes to bloom Mountain steppe and desert gloom Yet finds this life a tomb And each hour a moan Moaning for manhood lost For noble purposes crossed For hoes and bright dreams tossed In that yawning grave Where wealth the tyrant stands Grasping with greedy hands And binding in iron bands The life of its slave That message send again Peeling thro hill and glen, Freedom for working men Is freedom for all Freedom from dread of want From hunger lean and gaunt From all the ills that daunt And keep us in thrall
A REBEL SONG Come workers, sing a rebel song, a song of love and hate, Of love unto the lowly, and of hatred to the great The great who trod our fathers down, who steal our children's bread, Whose hand of greed is stretched to rob the living and the dead
Chorus Then sing our rebel song, as we proudly sweep along To end the age-long tyranny that makes for human tears Our march is nearer done with each setting of the sun, And the tyrant's might is passing with the passing of the years.
We sing no song of wailing, and no song of sights or tears, High are our hopes and stout our hearts, and banished all our fears Our flag is raised above us so that all the world may see 'Tis Labour's faith and Labour's arm alone can labour free. chorus Out from the depths of misery we march with hearts aflame, With wrath against the rulers false who wreck our menhoods name The serf who licks his tyrants rod may bend forgiving knee. The slave who breaks his slavery's chain a wrathful man must be.
Our army Marches onward with its face towards the dawn, In trust secure in that one thing the slave may lean upon, The might within the arm of him who, knowing Freedom's worth, Strikes home to banish tyranny from off the face of earth chorus
WHEN LABOUR CALLS When Labour calls her children forth, A waiting world to win, Earth's noblest breed, true men of worth, Her ranks shall enter in, Then, comrades all, prepare that we May hear that call anon, And drive the hosts of tyranny Like clouds before the dawn, And drive our foes, And drive our foes, Our foes like clouds before the dawn Thou knowest, long has Labour groaned, A robbed and beaten thrall, Whilst Capital, on high enthroned Reign'd, lording over all, But Time rolled on, and Earth and Sky New powers to man revealed, And Science echos Labour's cry, King Capital must yield, At last must yield, At last must yield, King Capital at last must yield! We work and wait till womb of Time Shall give fair Freedom birth, To Labour's hosts that hope sublime Regenerates the earth And by that hope we toilers fired To nobler deeds shall be, That we may guide by it inspired Our Class to Liberty, To Liberty, To Liberty To guide our Class to Liberty!
THE FLAG Lift that flag and tenderly guard it, Guard it as a lover would guard his love, Ours be the shame if aught debarred it Freely floating our ranks above Raise that pledge of our hope, and daring All that the tyrant can do or essay, Strike, and the fetters they long are wearing From the limbs of Labour shall pass away. Guard that flag, for brothers 'tis ours, Ours the life-blood that gave it its hue, For us it waved thro' darkest hours, Waiting till Labour its destiny knew, Hail that flag, now floating on high Free, as the eagle flies to the sun, Token and sign that man may die But Freedom persists till all is won, Pledge (t)hat flag, my brothers, your glasses Never were drained to a holier toast-- Never shall Time reveal as it passes A grander mission than Labour can boast, Fill up the glass no stinted measure Will serve to toast this day with me The Cause we love, the Hope we treasure, The Flag that beckons to Liberty. From James Connolly: Songs of Freedom, New York 1907
A FESTIVE SONG Comrades, clasp hands, The time demands This night we spend enjoying The jovial word Round festive board, Grim carking care destroying Liquour this night Shall sparkle bright, With homage pay to Beauty, And brave men who Oft conflict knew, Shall take a rest from duty. Chorus Then fill the cup With liquor up, Pledge evr'y man his neighbor, That in the light Of Truth he'll fight To win the world for labour. Comrades, the tears O(u)r Class thro years Hath Shed the wide world over, Have taken root And soon the fruit Our tyrants shall discover And when at length We show our strength, And send each despot flying, With joy and mirth Like ours the Earth Shall hail Oppression dying Chorus For who with zest Can laugh the best But he who laughs the longest And in the fight Twixt wrong and right The laugh is with the strongest Since time began Fate's mighty plan The laugh gave to the proudest But History Shall tend that w(e) Did laugh the last and loudest Then, comrades, toast Great Freedom's host, And loudly sing her praises, And honored be, O'er land and sea Whoe'er her banner raises, So, ere we leave, A wreath we'll weave Of flow'rs of Earth's best gleaning With Maid and Wife, With Hope of Life Free from a tyrant's scheming
FREEDOM'S PIONEERS (air-the Boys of Wexford) Our feet upon the upward path Are set where none may tread Save those who to the rich man's wrath Dare turn rebellious head And heart as brave no cringing slave In all our ranks appears Our proudest boast, in Labour's host Were Freedom's Pioneers Chorus: O, slaves may beg and cowards whine We scorn their foolish fears Be this our plan, to lead the van, With Freedom's Pioneers Too lon(g) upon our toil were built The palaces of power When at our touch those forts of guilt Would crumble in an hour, Now each day brings on swiftest wings To their unwilling ears, The shouts that greet our marching feet Tis Freedom's Pioneers! The rich man's hate, the rich man's pride Have held us long in awe Our right to life is still denied, And wealth still rules the law But man shall ow no longer now, But welcome with his cheers The ringing stroke, to break our yoke Of freedom's Pioneers
HUMAN FREEDOM (air--Clares Dragoons) Come, hearken all, the day draws nigh, When mustring hosts the cause shall try Of Labours right to live and die Enjoying human freedom Then Labours force shall take the field The liberating sword to wield, For Labours own right arm must shield The cause of Human freedom, Chorus Shout hurra for freedom's host, For freedom's banner, nobly borne Shout hurra, though tempest tossed Freedom's barque shall ride the storm The rights our heroes' lives have bought The truths our martyrs, dying, taught, The hearts of men with passion hot Prepare for human freedom Its roots are in no barren soil But watered by the tears of toil Are spreading fast no storms can spoil The plant of human freedom Our Native Land! alas, the name Is but a sound to tell our shame, What land have they whose spirits tame Brook loss of human freedom? When lake and river, hill and dale, Hear children's cry and womens wail Of suffering rise on every gale, For lack of human freedom Our banner waves o'er many bands Thro mount and ocean-severed lands With active brain and skillful hands Fighting for human freedom For ancient feuds no more divide, And ancient hates we thrust aside Our Class, we know, thro battles tide Must bear the flag of freedom For this since we the world began Their troubled course the ages ran And earth in long travail for man Bare seed of human freedom For us and ours that heritage Was handed down from age to age That we might write on Hist'ry's page The Birth of Human Freedom
FREEDOM'S SUN (air--Loves Young Dream) O, Freedom's song by workers sung, Rings loud and clear, O'er every land, in every tongue, Afar, anear Time passeth by, Old systems die Oppressions course outrun, But Earth, rejoiced, salutes the light Of Freedom's Sun O, rejoicing Earth salutes the light Of Freedom's Sun, O, all men then their lives may live From grim want free And all the joyous that life can give Their lot shall be And care shall fly And sea and sky Acclaim the work well done And Earth, rejoiced, salutes the light Of Freedom's Sun, O, rejoicing Earth salutes the light Of Freedom's Sun,
No longer now revolt shall hide In holes and caves, Whilst those who have Oppression's pride But find their graves To tyrants ban Can now make man The truths of knowledge shun But Earth rejoiced salutes the light Of Freedom's Sun O rejoicing Earth salutes the light Of Freedom's Sun Our fathers saw the master's sword His plunder glean, But specious fraud and lying word His thefts now screen Yet Fraud shall fail and Truth prevail And Justice shall be done, And earth rejoiced salute the light Of Freedom's Sun O rejoicing Earth salutes the light Of Freedom's Sun
BE MODERATE Be Moderate, the timerous cry Who dread the tyrants thunder, You ask too much and people fly From you aghast in wonder Tis passing strange and I declare Such statements cause me mirth For our demands most moderate are We only want THE EARTH Our masters all- a godly crew Whose hearts throb for the poor Their sympathies assure us, too If our demands were fewer Most generous souls, but please observe, What they enjoy from birth Is all we ever had the nerve To ask, that is THE EARTH The Labour Fakir, full of guile, Such doctrine ever preaches, And whilst he bleeds the rank and file Tame moderation teaches Yet in his despite well see the day When, with sword in its girth, Labour shall march in war array, To seize its own, THE EARTH
SAOIRSE A RU'IN Thou, savior yet to be Saoirse, a ru`in! Dearer than life to me Saoirse, a ru`in! May all I give to thee Grant that mine eyes may see The in thy majesty Saoirse, a ru`in! Hard was our travail past Saoirse, a ru`in! Long held in bondage fast Saoirse, a ru`in! Weary the road weve passed By errors clouds oercast, Thy light breaks in at last Saoirse, a ru`in! Oft hath our masters tongue Saoirse, a ru`in! Glibly thy glories sung Saoirse, a ru`in! Loudly thy harp theyve strung, Wildly thy praises flung Saoirse a ru`in! Long have we sought thy light, Saoirse, a ru`in Through Oppression's darkest night Saoirse, a ru`in! And ne'er shall cease the fight Gainst the tyrant's hateful might, Till thou shalt bless our sight, Saoirse, a ru`in! Forth, then we march to-day. Freedom our own! Eager, panting for the Fray, Freedom our own! Neath thy suns enlight'ning ray Naught shall our progress stay Soon thou shall reign alway Freedom our own!
WATCHWORD OF LABOUR Oh! hear ye the Watchword of Labour! The slogan of they whod be free That no more to any enslaver, Must Labour bend suppliant knee, That we on whose shoulders are borne The pomp and pride of the great Whose toil they repay with their scorn, Must challenge and master our fate Chorus: Then send it aloft on the breeze boys! That watchword the grandest weve known That Labour must rise from its knees boys! And claim the broad earth as its own. Aye! we who oft won by our valour, Empire for our Rulers and Lords Yet knelt in abasement and squalor, To the thing we had mad by our swords Now valour with worth will be blending When answering Labour's command We arise from our knees, and ascending To manhood for freedom take stand. chorus Then out from the field and the city From workshop, from mill and from mine Despising their wrath and their pity We workers are moving in line To answer the watchword and token That Labour gives forth as its own Nor pause till our fetters we've broken And conquered the spoiler and drone. chorus
HYMN OF FREEDOM (air--the Holy City) Here, at her altar kneeling Sweet Freedom we adore, And swear to hold her honour As sacred as of yore Did all her holy martyrs, When, recking life as naught, They went to death to guard the faith Her love to man had brought Chorus: O Freedom! O Freedom! Thy worshipers are we Here, kneeling our allegiance We render now to Thee And as our fathers prayed to see The glories of her face We, at her altar kneeling Beseech her longed-for grace She needs no gory sacrifice Laid on her altar stones Our pilgrimage of poverty For all our faults atones She comes not clothed in majesty No terrors in her tone Her priesthood is of Labour Her service is our own To toil, and pain, and penury Wherever manhood dwells She speaks and lo responsive The heart of Labour swells She builds her altar in our hearts Her ritual on our lives And they who yield her service Lack not the grace that shrives
SHAKE OUT YOUR BANNERS Come, shake out your banners, and forth to the fight Joy, joy to our heart that this day we have seen When the war-flags of Labour, saluting the light Of Freedom for mankind, around us doth stream Oh the tyrants may quake lest the blood they have poured O'er the fields of the earth their crowns to be-gem May rise to our thoughts as we unsheathe the sword, And harden our hearts gainst the spoilers of men. Ay, the sword glitters grandly, but not as of yore When brother smote brother in murderous feud Or the nod of a tyrant rushed nations to war And the hopes of our race were o'erwhelmed in blood Nay the fight that we fight is a fight for our own And Freedom for Labour our wars tocsin shall be Through the broad earth resounding, till Capitals throne Lies shattered for aye and the toiler is free.
THE CALL OF ERIN (written by James Connolly abroad ship during his return to Ireland in 1909- Air-Rolling Home to Bonnie Scotland) With the engines neath us throbbing And the wind upon our stern, Little reck we of the distance That divides us now from Erin For we hear her voices calling Sweeping past us on the West Calling home to her the children She once nourished on her breast Chorus: She is calling, calling ,calling In the wind and o'er the tide We, her children hear her voices Call us ever to her side O! Ye waters bear us onward And ye winds your task fulfill Till our Irish eyes we feast on Irish vale and Irish hill Till we tread our Irish Cities See their glory and their shame, And our eyes like skies oer Erin, Through their smiles shed tears of pain. Glorious is the land we're leaving And its pride shall grow through years And the land that calls us homewards Can but share with us her tears Yet our heart her call obeying Heedless of the wealth men crave Turneth home to share her sorrow Where she weeps beside the wave
FATHER IN EXILE (Written by James Connolly in the U.S., Christmas, 1903) Tis Christmas Day in Ireland And I'm sitting here alone Three thousand miles of ocean intervene And the faces of my loved ones In my little Irish home Come glancing in and out my thoughts between O, to catch the loving kisses From my little children flung To feel the warm embrace when wife And husband meet To hear the boisterous greeting in The kindly Dublin tongue That makes brightness of the dullness Of our murky Dublin streets Tis Christmas day in Ireland And I my lot bewailing Am fretting in this Western land so cold Where the throbbings of the human heart Are weak and unavailing And human souls are reckoned less than gold O the headache and the heartache And the ashes at the feast Attend us every hour of our sojourn In this land Till the heart-sick Irish exile turns His face towards the East To that land where love and poverty Can wander hand in hand Tis Christmas day in Ireland And ringing over yonder Are Dublin streets with Irish love of life And I'm here in exile moping In spirit yearning wander To that Irish land to meet my Irish wife O the lovings and the strivings and the Griefs we share in common and the babes that came to bless us As sweet buds upon a tree O curses on the cruel fate that sent A father roaming And blessings still this Christmastide My Irish home on thee. (This particular collection of songs came from a program of a concert given by James Connolly's comrades of the Socialist Party of Ireland and the Irish Citizen Army to commemorate the anniversary of his birth. The Concert was to be held in the Mansion House Dublin on the 5th of June 1919 with members of the Citizen Army described in the Program as the Red guard of the workers acting as stewards. However, British Imperialism, which had executed Connolly only three years previously, was intent on coercing those who would seek a vent in song for the aspirations the fears and hopes the loves and hatreds engendered by the struggle The concert was proclaimed under the Defense of the Realm Act. When the people arrived for the concert they found the Mansion house guarded by armed police and many more police positioned in the nearby streets. Immediately fully armed groups of the citizen army were mobilized. A citizen Army officer who was trying to resist arrest fired on the police his men followed his example and Dublin had its first shooting since Dan Breen and his comrades raised the standard at Soloheadbeg. Several policemen and one civilian were wounded. Later that night, the proclaimed concert was held in the Trades Hall. While the police and the Red Guard of the workers faced one another in the street outside, the joyous defiant singing of revolutionary songs could be heard coming from the building. (fixed by a Joe Clone... PHEW....... thanks for the lyrics.. but please learn to do line breaks.. check out the "html" threads or just type <*br*> (without the *'s) at the end of each line..... I don't know why but the apostrophes and other punctuation came through as numbers so I have guessed what you intended some of them to be... another tip would be "don't stick so many songs into one post"... in case they get lost or jumbled and you lose all your hard work.....)
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