Their powerful stage presence and unending barrage of music from the beginning of their set to the end of the dark, yet high energy show has earned them spots on stage with iconic underground rock heroes such as The Tossers and Murder by death, and earned festival showcases from The Michigan Irish Music Festival, the Crispy Music Festival, and the George Killians Irish Red Ruckus as direct support for The Dropkick Murphys. Their songwriting skills have been recognized in the 2011 John Lennon Songwriting Contest where they earned a finalist position.
Instrumentation:
John Johnson - Percussion.
Zak Zuzula - Vocals., Bass.
Don Zuzula - Vocals, Tin Whistle, Electric Guitars, Banjo, Acoustic Guitars
Discography:
"Blood Sweat and Beards", EP, spring 2009
"11 Empty Bottles", full length LP, winter 2009
"Cenocillicaphobia" full length Vinyl release with downloadable aditional content, released September 3rd 2011.
Come Out Ye Black and Tans
The Tosspints Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the loving English feet they tramped all over us,
And each and every night when me daddy'd come home tight
He'd invite the neighbors outside with this ch0rus:
Oh, come out you black and tans,
Come out and fight me like a man
Show your wives how you won medals down in Flanders
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra.
Come let me hear you tell
How you slammed the great Pernell,
When you fought them well and truly persecuted,
Where are the smears and jeers
That you bravely let us hear
When our heroes of sixteen were executed.
Oh, come out you black and tans,
Come out and fight me like a man
Show your wives how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away,
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra.
Come tell us how you slew
Those brave Arabs two by two
Just like the Zulus they had spears and bows and arrows,
And bravely how you killed each one
With sixteen pounder gun
And you frightened them poor natives to their marrow.
Oh, come out you black and tans,
Come out and fight me like a man
Show your wives how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away,
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra.
The things are coming fast
And the time is here at last,
When each yeoman should be cast aside before us,
And if there is a need
Well my kids will say "Godspeed!"
With a verse or two of Steven Beehan's ch0rus:
Oh, come out you black and tans,
Come out and fight me like a man
Show your wives how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away,
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra.
Oh, come out you black and tans,
Come out and fight me like a man
Show your wives how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away,
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra.
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra.
The Tosspints's song "Come Out Ye Black and Tans" is a powerful nationalist anthem that is meant to inspire the Irish people to resist British oppression. The song is written from the perspective of someone who was born and raised in Dublin, where the British army had a strong presence. The lyrics describe how the English soldiers would regularly trample over the local people and how the singer's father would invite the neighbors outside to sing this song as a form of resistance.
The chorus of the song is a call to action for the "black and tans," a group of British soldiers who were notorious for their brutality and violence towards the Irish people. The singer challenges them to come out and fight like men, asserting that the Irish resistance movement (IRA) had made them run away in fear. The singer then goes on to describe several historical events where the British army had committed atrocities, including the persecution of Irish nationalists in 1916 and the killing of Arabs and Zulus in colonial wars.
Throughout the song, the lyrics are infused with a sense of pride in Irish heritage and a determination to resist British rule. The final verse implies that the time for revolution is at hand and that even the singer's children are prepared to fight for their freedom. Overall, the song is a powerful call to action that celebrates Irish culture and urges the Irish people to resist their English oppressors.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born on a Dublin street where the Royal drums do beat
I was born in an area where the English presence is felt strongly
And the loving English feet they tramped all over us,
We were oppressed and treated harshly by the English
And each and every night when me daddy'd come home tight
Every night when my father would come home drunk
He'd invite the neighbors outside with this chorus:
He'd call upon the neighbors to join him in the following song
Oh, come out you black and tans,
Oh, you British soldiers who wear black and tan uniforms,
Come out and fight me like a man
Come out and face us like a true warrior
Show your wives how you won medals down in Flanders
Boast to your wives how you earned medals during World War I
Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away,
Tell them how the Irish Republican Army chased you out of Ireland
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra.
From the beautiful countryside of Killashandra
Come let me hear you tell
Speak up and share with us
How you slammed the great Pernell,
Describe how you defeated the great Irish nationalist leader Parnell
When you fought them well and truly persecuted,
When you fought and oppressed our people
Where are the smears and jeers
Where are the insults and taunts
That you bravely let us hear
That you boldly spoke to us
When our heroes of sixteen were executed.
When our heroes of the Easter Rising were killed
Come tell us how you slew
Come tell us how you killed
Those brave Arabs two by two
Those brave Arabs who fought you with spears and bows
Just like the Zulus they had spears and bows and arrows,
Just like the Zulus who fought the British with traditional weapons
And bravely how you killed each one
And you proudly killed each and every one
With sixteen pounder gun
Using powerful artillery
And you frightened them poor natives to their marrow.
And you scared the indigenous people to their core
The things are coming fast
Things are moving quickly
And the time is here at last,
And the time has finally come
When each yeoman should be cast aside before us,
When each British soldier should be defeated by us
And if there is a need
And if necessary
Well my kids will say "Godspeed!"
My children will wish you good luck
With a verse or two of Steven Beehan's chorus:
With a few lines from Steven Beehan's song
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra.
From the beautiful countryside of Killashandra
Contributed by Aria E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Dan Stallsmith
on Blood or Whiskey
I cannot come up with words to describe how great this song is. Well done!!!!