Follow Me Up To Carlow
Off Kilter Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Lift Mac Cahir Og your face,
Brooding o’er the old disgrace,
That black Fitzwilliam stormed your place
And drove you to the Fern.
Grey said victory was sure,
Soon the firebrand he’d secure.
Until he met at Glanmalure
Feach Mac Hugh O’Byrne

Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Feach will do what Feach will dare
Now Fitzwilliam have a care
Fallen is your star low.
Up with halbert, out with sword
On we go for by the Lord
Feach Mac Hugh has given his word
Follow me up to Carlow.

See the swords of Glen Imayle,
Flashing o’er the English Pale
See all the children of the Gael,
Beneath O’Byrne’s Banners
Rooster of the fighting stock
Would you let a Saxon cock
Crow upon an Irish rock
Fly up and teach him manners.

Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Feach will do what Feach will dare
Now Fitzwilliam have a care
Fallen is your star low.
Up with halbert, out with sword
On we go for by the Lord
Feach Mac Hugh has given his word
Follow me up to Carlow.

Here we go!

From Tassagart to Clonmore,
Flows a stream of Saxon gore
Och, great is Rory Oge O’More,
At sending loons to Hades.
Whie is sick and Lane is fled,
Now for black Fitzwilliam’s head
We’ll send it over, dripping red,
To Liza and the ladies

Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Feach will do what Feach will dare
Now Fitzwilliam have a care
Fallen is your star low.
Up with halbert, out with sword
On we go for by the Lord
Feach Mac Hugh has given his word
Follow me up to Carlow.

Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Feach will do what Feach will dare
Now Fitzwilliam have a care
Fallen is your star low.
Up with halbert, out with sword
On we go for by the Lord




Feach Mac Hugh has given his word
Follow me up to Carlow.

Overall Meaning

Off Kilter's "Follow Me Up To Carlow" is a rousing call to arms for Irish patriots, urging them to rise up against the English who have wronged them. The lyrics describe the historical Battle of Glenmalure in 1580, where Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne, an Irish chieftain, fought against the invading forces of the English viceroy Lord Grey de Wilton.


The first verse references the English invasion of Mac Cahir Og's lands and is a call to rise up against them. The second verse highlights the bravery of O'Byrne and his men, their loyalty to each other, and their vow to stand and fight against the English oppressors. The third verse speaks directly to the English, daring them to come and face the Irish in battle, confident in their ability to defeat them.


The chorus, repeated twice throughout the song, is a rallying cry for the Irish to come together and fight for their rights and their land. The lyrics are filled with passionate language, such as "saxon gore" and "sending loons to hades," and convey a sense of pride and defiance in the face of tyranny.


Overall, "Follow Me Up To Carlow" can be seen as a tribute to the heroic struggle of the Irish people against the oppressive forces of English colonialism. It is a song that speaks to the resilience and determination of a people fighting for their freedom and their heritage.


Line by Line Meaning

Lift Mac Cahir Og your face
Raise your head, Mac Cahir Og


Brooding o’er the old disgrace
Thinking about the past wrongs done to us


That black Fitzwilliam stormed your place
When Fitzwilliam came and attacked our land


And drove you to the Fern.
And forced you to flee to the Fern


Grey said victory was sure,
The Grey believed they would win


Soon the firebrand he’d secure.
Thinking he would put out our rebellion


Until he met at Glanmalure
Until he came across Feach Mac Hugh O’Byrne at Glanmalure


Feach Mac Hugh O’Byrne
Feach Mac Hugh O’Byrne


Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Cursing and swearing at Lord Kildare


Feach will do what Feach will dare
Feach will do whatever he has to do


Now Fitzwilliam have a care
Fitzwilliam should be careful now


Fallen is your star low.
Your reputation has been damaged


Up with halbert, out with sword
Get your weapons ready


On we go for by the Lord
We shall fight, as we are fighting for the Lord


Feach Mac Hugh has given his word
Feach Mac Hugh has promised


Follow me up to Carlow.
Follow me, and we shall go to Carlow


See the swords of Glen Imayle,
Look at the swords of Glen Imayle


Flashing o’er the English Pale
Flashing over the English border


See all the children of the Gael,
Look at all the Irish people


Beneath O’Byrne’s Banners
Fighting under O’Byrne's banner


Rooster of the fighting stock
Do you consider yourself a fighter?


Would you let a Saxon cock
Would you let an Englishman take over?


Crow upon an Irish rock
Rule over Ireland


Fly up and teach him manners.
Defend ourselves and show them how we fight


Here we go!
Let's go!


From Tassagart to Clonmore,
From Tassagart to Clonmore


Flows a stream of Saxon gore
A stream of blood from Englishmen is flowing


Och, great is Rory Oge O’More,
Oh, Rory Oge O’More is a great warrior


At sending loons to Hades.
He is good at sending fools to the afterlife


Whie is sick and Lane is fled,
Whie is sick and Lane has fled


Now for black Fitzwilliam’s head
Now it's time to get Fitzwilliam's head


We’ll send it over, dripping red,
We'll send it over, covered in blood


To Liza and the ladies
For Liza and the ladies




Contributed by Blake N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

skyviewdesign

Saw them multiple times at Epcot through the years. Definitely the highlight of the day for me every time!

Ginnungagap418

I love this song,great album but this song really really gets me, I guess cuz I'm a metal head and they way they play this song to me its like celtic thrash metal...LOL I would love to see these guys make it big time they deserve it cuz they are very talented.

Mihail Bila

To me it sounds like a reference to 70s prog rock and ethnic Jethro Tull stuff. The speed does match that of trash metal.

Timmy D

I was a huge fan of this band when I was a kid. Used to love seeing them at Epcot

GrandpaNash

Disney should never have killed this act. Their last show in September 2014 is on YouTube. The size of the crowd proves how popular it was. Bad move, Disney. The band wanted to stay. The guests wanted to them to stay. If you were going to fire someone, it should have been the executive that decided that providing world class entertainment at Epcot wasn't worth the cost.

Evie e

Seriously. I don't go to Disney World nearly as much as I used to when they had things like Off Kilter and the Adventurers Club.

jish55

to be fair, they played there for 21 years, which is impressive for any live show.

Jim Anon

Off kilter is amazing

Richard Hawkins

Disney is in a death spiral because of that kind of thinking.

THE Bigragu

This band is amazing! They are a must see. They are awesome live. Great entainers, I now must learn the Great Highland Bagpipes!

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