O me name is Joe McDonnell
From Belfast town I came
That city I will never see again
For it's in the town of Belfast
I spent many happy days
I love that town in oh so many ways
And it was there I spent my childhood
And found for me a wife
I then set out to make for her a life
Ah, 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 guns
When I think of all the deeds that you have done
You've plundered many nations, divided many lands
You have terrorised my people. You rule 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 a trial
And although I love my country I am not a bitter man
I've seen cruelty and injustice at first hand
So then one fateful mornin' I shook both freedom's hands
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 have done
You have plundered many nations, divided many lands
You have terrorised my people. You rule with an iron hand.
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
One cold October's mornin' I was trapped in a lion's 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 seems to me that no one gave a d***
Ah, 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 have done
You have plundered many nations, divided many lands
You have terrorised my people. You rule with an iron hand.
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
May God shine on you Bobby Sands
For the courage that you have shown
May your glory and your faith be widely known
And brave Francis Hughes and Ray McCreesh who died unselfishly
And Patsy O Hara, and next in line, it's me
And to those who lie behind me, may you're courage be the same
And I pray to God our lives were not in vain
Though sad and bitter was the year of 1981
All is not lost, and it's still going to be won
From Belfast town I came
That city I will never see again
For it's in the town of Belfast
I spent many happy days
I love that town in oh so many ways
And it was there I spent my childhood
And found for me a wife
I then set out to make for her a life
Ah, 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 guns
When I think of all the deeds that you have done
You've plundered many nations, divided many lands
You have terrorised my people. You rule 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 a trial
And although I love my country I am not a bitter man
I've seen cruelty and injustice at first hand
So then one fateful mornin' I shook both freedom's hands
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 have done
You have plundered many nations, divided many lands
You have terrorised my people. You rule with an iron hand.
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
One cold October's mornin' I was trapped in a lion's 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 seems to me that no one gave a d***
Ah, 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 have done
You have plundered many nations, divided many lands
You have terrorised my people. You rule with an iron hand.
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
May God shine on you Bobby Sands
For the courage that you have shown
May your glory and your faith be widely known
And brave Francis Hughes and Ray McCreesh who died unselfishly
And Patsy O Hara, and next in line, it's me
And to those who lie behind me, may you're courage be the same
And I pray to God our lives were not in vain
Though sad and bitter was the year of 1981
All is not lost, and it's still going to be won