It was in 1963 that three neighbouring children from a quiet working-class Dublin suburb, Inchicore, brothers Brian and Derek and a pal Noel Nagle started playing round the fleadhs of Ireland more for fun than anything else. They used to get together at weekends playing Fleadh cheoils or music festivals, mainly as a pastime. Thoughts of fame and riches were a world away.
Brian and Noel had taken tin whistle lessons at the Pipers Club in Thomas Street in Dublin, while Derek took up the mandolin for no better reason than his father played it. During the summer of 1963 the four of them had hitch-hiked across Ireland, from Dublin to Kerry, for a weekend at a Fleadh Ceoil, an annual gathering of traditional Irish musicians where there's lashings of drink and non-stop music. The lads were really there for the beer although they did play and sing, but only for their own amusement.
Brian Warfield recalls what happened next: "I remember arriving in Killarney fairly late at night and looking around for somewhere to bed down. It was two o'clock in the morning as we trooped through the streets of the town and probably, because we had a few drinks in us, we started to play and sing. It was August and there were still some people on the streets. A few of them gathered around us as we sang and after a dozen tunes a fella with an American accent came up and asked us if we knew some song or other. We knew it - and played it for him."
In 2002 Derek Warfield left the group to pursue a solo career but the rump of The Wolfe Tones still tour constantly, usually appearing at small function halls. However, 2004 was their last tour year doing that. They continue to tour as a three-piece band comprising Brian Warfield, Noel Nagle and Tommy Byrne.
The well-known rebel song, "Celtic Symphony" was written by Brian Warfield in 1987 for the 100th anniversary of Celtic Football Club. It has been covered by countless bands around the world. Other famous songs written by the group include Joe McDonnell, a song about the life and death of the IRA Volunteer who was the 5th person to die on the 1981 Hunger Strike, which is also said to be their most popular stage song.
Come Out Ye Black and Tans
The Wolfe Tones Lyrics
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And the loving English feet they went all over us
And every single night when me da' would came home tight
He'd invite the neighbors out with this chorus
Come out ye black and tans, come out and fight me like a man
Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell her how the IRA made you run like hell away
Come tell us how you slew them old Arabs two by two
Like the Zulus they had spears, bows and arrows
How brave you faced one with your 16-pounder gun
And you frightened them natives to their marrow
Come out ye black and tans, come out and fight me like a man
Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell her how the IRA made you run like hell away
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra
Come let us hear you tell how you slandered great Parnell
When you fought them well and truly persecuted
Where are the sneers and jeers that you loudly let us hear
When our leaders of sixteen were executed?
Come out ye black and tans, come out and fight me like a man
Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell her how the IRA made you run like hell away
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra
Come out ye black and tans, come out and fight me like a man
Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell her how the IRA made you run like hell away
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra
The Wolfe Tones' song, "Come Out Ye Black and Tans," is a powerful and controversial anthem that speaks to the struggle for Irish independence from Britain. The lyrics refer to the Black and Tans, a British paramilitary force that was sent to Ireland in the 1920s during the Irish War of Independence. The Black and Tans were notoriously violent and predatory, and are said to have committed numerous atrocities against Irish civilians. The song's lyrics call on the Black and Tans to face the Irish people like men, rather than hiding behind their guns and their British uniforms.
The opening lines of the song set the scene of the singer's birthplace, a Dublin street where the sound of the "Royal" drumbeat could be heard. This is likely a reference to the colonial power of the British Empire, which was still exerting a powerful influence in Ireland at the time. The rest of the song is a challenge to the Black and Tans, who are called on to face the IRA in a true battle of manhood. The lyrics also reference the British military's exploits in places like Flanders and Arabia, suggesting that the Black and Tans have nothing to be proud of in terms of their military service.
The final stanza of the song references the Irish leader Charles Stewart Parnell, who was hounded by the British government and media after it was revealed that he had been involved in an extramarital affair. The singer challenges the Black and Tans to face their complicity in the persecution of Parnell, and challenges them to face the truth about their role in the oppression of the Irish people. Overall, "Come Out Ye Black and Tans" is a powerful expression of Irish nationalism and anti-colonial struggle.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born on a Dublin street where the Royal drums the beat
I hail from a street where the British military marched with their drums and occupied Ireland
And the loving English feet they went all over us
The English exerted their political, social and economic power over us with their footsteps and actions
And every single night when me da' would came home tight
When my father used to come home drunk every night
He'd invite the neighbors out with this chorus
He would invite neighbors out to sing the song 'Come Out Ye Black and Tans'
Come out ye black and tans, come out and fight me like a man
Black and Tans, come out and fight like real men
Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders
Show your wives how you achieved glory by fighting in the World War I in Flanders
Tell her how the IRA made you run like hell away
Tell your wife how the Irish Republican Army (IRA) made you run away scared from the green and lovely places such as Killashandra
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra
Reference to the beautiful Irish countryside
Come tell us how you slew them old Arabs two by two
Tell us how you bravely killed unarmed Arabs in unequal fights
Like the Zulus they had spears, bows and arrows
Like how the British targeted the Zulus who had primitive weapons
How brave you faced one with your 16-pounder gun
How you used your modern 16-pounder gun to fight with a single native who had no chance against you
And you frightened them natives to their marrow
You struck fear into the natives and intimidated them to their core
Come let us hear you tell how you slandered great Parnell
Tell us how you lied and defamed Charles Parnell, a great Irish politician and leader
When you fought them well and truly persecuted
When you fought them fair and square but still wrongfully harassed and discriminated against them
Where are the sneers and jeers that you loudly let us hear
Where is your mocking demeanor and careless attitude that you flaunted when our 16 leaders were executed
When our leaders of sixteen were executed?
Reference to the Easter Rising of 1916 where 16 Irish nationalists were executed by the British government
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Joe Giltrap, Wes McGhee, DP DP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind