"Joe McDonnell" lyrics

Oh, me 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
I love 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

But all my young ambitions met with bitterness and hate
I soon found myself inside a prison gate

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 terrorised their peoples, you ruled with an iron hand
And you brought this reign of terror to my land

Through those 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

So then, one fateful morning, I shook bold freedom's hand
For right or wrong, I'd try to free my land

And you dare to call me a terrorist, while you look down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you had done
You had plundered many nations; divided many lands
You had terrorised their peoples, you ruled with an iron hand
And you brought this reign of terror to my land

Then one cold October's morning, trapped in a lions' den
I found myself imprisoned once again
I was committed to the H-blocks for fourteen years or more
On the blanket, the 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

And you dare to call me a terrorist, while you look down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you had done
You had plundered many nations; divided many lands
You had terrorised their peoples, you ruled with an iron hand
And you brought this reign of terror to my land

May God shine on you, Bobby Sands, for the courage you have shown
May your glory and your fate 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 is not in vain

Ah, but sad and bitter was the year of 1981
For everything I've lost and nothing's won