Wearing Of The Green

Oh Paddy, dear, and did you hear the
News that's going round?
The shamrock is by law forbid
To grow on Irish ground
Saint Patrick's Day no more we'll keep
His colours can't be seen
For they're hanging men and women for
The wearing of the green
I met with Napper Tandy and he
Took me by the hand
He said "How's dear old Ireland
And how does she stand?"
She's the most distressful country that
You have ever seen
For they're hanging men and women for
The wearing of the green
For the wearing of the green
For the wearing of the green
They're hanging men and women for
The wearing of the green
Then since the color we must
Wear is England's cruel red
Sure, Ireland's sons will ne'er forget the
Blood that they have shed
You may take the shamrock from your hat
And cast it on the sod
But 'twill take root and flourish
Still tho' underfoot 'tis trod
My father loved his country and
Sleeps within it's breast
While I that would have died for
Her must never so be blessed
Those tears my mother shed for me
How bitter they had been
If I had proved a traitor to
The wearing of the green
For the wearing of the green
For the wearing of the green
They're hanging men and women for
The wearing of the green
But if at last our colours should
Be torn from Ireland's heart
Her sons with shame and sorrow from
The dear old isle would part
I've heard a whisper of a land
That lies beyond the sea
Where rich and poor stand equal in
The light of freedom's day
Oh Ireland, must we leave you
Driven by a tyrant's hand
And seek a mother's blessing from
A strange and distant land
Where the cruel cross of England
Shall never more be seen
And in that land we'll live and die
For the wearing of the green
For the wearing of the green
For the wearing of the green
They're hanging men and women for
The wearing of the green
For the wearing of the green
For the wearing of the green
They're hanging men and women for
The wearing of the green