Lyrics James Connolly - Black 47

James Connolly

Marching down O’Connell Street with the Starry Plough on high
There goes the Citizen Army with their fists raised in the sky
Leading them is a mighty man with a mad rage in his eye
«My name is James Connolly — I didn’t come here to die
But to fight for the rights of the working man
And the small farmer too
Protect the proletariat from the bosses and their screws
So hold on to your rifles, boys, and don’t give up your dream
Of a Republic for the working class, economic liberty"
Then Jem yelled out «Oh Citizens, this system is a curse
An English boss is a monster, an Irish one even worse
They’ll never lock us out again and here’s the reason why
My name is James Connolly, I didn’t come here to die…»
And now we’re in the GPO with the bullets whizzing by
With Pearse and Sean McDermott bidding each other goodbye
Up steps our citizen leader and roars out to the sky
«My name is James Connolly, I didn’t come here to die…
Oh Lillie, I don’t want to die, we’ve got so much to live for
And I know we’re all going out to get slaughtered, but I just can’t take any
more
Just the sight of one more child screaming from hunger in a Dublin slum
Or his mother slaving 14 hours a day for the scum
Who exploit her and take her youth and throw it on a factory floor
Oh Lillie, I just can’t take any more
They’ve locked us out, they’ve banned our unions, they even treat their animals
better than us
No!
It’s far better to die like a man on your feet than to live forever like
some slave on your knees, Lillie
But don’t let them wrap any green flag around me
And for God’s sake, don’t let them bury me in some field full of harps and
shamrocks
And whatever you do, don’t let them make a martyr out of me
No!
Rather raise the Starry Plough on high, sing a song of freedom
Here’s to you, Lillie, 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 fight
They shot him in Kilmainham Gaol but they’ll never stop his cry
My name is James Connolly, I didn’t come here to die…"