Black 47 - James Connolly Lyrics
Marchin' down O'Connell Street with the Starry Plough on highThere goes the Citizen Army with their fists raised in the skyLeading them is a mighty man with a mad rage in his eye"My name is James Connolly - I didn't come here to dieBut to fight for the rights of the working manAnd the small farmer tooProtect the proletariat from the bosses and their screwsSo hold on to your rifles, boys, and don't give up your dreamOf a Republic for the workin' class, economic liberty"Then Jem yelled out "Oh Citizens, this system is a curseAn English boss is a monster, an Irish one even worseThey'll never lock us out again and here's the reason whyMy name is James Connolly, I didn't come here to die....."And now we're in the GPO with the bullets whizzin' byWith Pearse and Sean McDermott biddin' each other goodbyeUp steps our citizen leader and roars out to the sky"My name is James Connolly, I didn't come here to die...Oh Lily, I don't want to die, we've got so much to live forAnd I know we're all goin' out to get slaughtered, but I just can't take any moreJust the sight of one more child screamin' from hunger in a Dublin slumOr his mother slavin' 14 hours a day for the scumWho exploit her and take her youth and throw it on a factory floorOh Lily, I just can't take any moreThey've locked us out, they've banned our unions, they even treat their animals better than usNo! It's far better to die like a man on your feet than to live forever like some slave on your knees, LillyBut don't let them wrap any green flag around meAnd for God's sake, don't let them bury me in some field full of harps and shamrocksAnd whatever you do, don't let them make a martyr out of meNo! Rather raise the Starry Plough on high, sing a song of freedomHere's to you, Lily, the rights of man and international revolution"We fought them to a standstill while the flames lit up the sky'Til a bullet pierced our leader and we gave up the fightThey shot him in Kilmainham jail but they'll never stop his cryMy name is James Connolly, I didn't come here to die...."
