What's wrong with it being a republican ballad?? The song is about a man who stands up against the British empire because he's oppressed. The republican movement was born with this very aim and continues to do that to this day. just because the free state was created doesn't mean that we're a free people. Remember, the IRA was founded and fought for freedom in the south and it continues in the north. Michael Collins' boys killed a load of people in the name of the Republic. We're actually being more civilised about it today with the political struggle (which would never have happened without the Republican movement). The history books will see the last 80 years and the next 15 or 20 as one continuous struggle. It is the IRA's (and Sinn Fein's) chapter in the rebellion that it our history.
All that aside, I must admit that the shouts of "IRA" and "Sinn Fein" detract from the piece musically, but the sentiment is good.
What's wrong with it being a republican ballad?? The song is about a man who stands up against the British empire because he's oppressed. The republican movement was born with this very aim and continues to do that to this day. just because the free state was created doesn't mean that we're a free people. Remember, the IRA was founded and fought for freedom in the south and it continues in the north. Michael Collins' boys killed a load of people in the name of the Republic. We're actually being more civilised about it today with the political struggle (which would never have happened without the Republican movement). The history books will see the last 80 years and the next 15 or 20 as one continuous struggle. It is the IRA's (and Sinn Fein's) chapter in the rebellion that it our history. All that aside, I must admit that the shouts of "IRA" and "Sinn Fein" detract from the piece musically, but the sentiment is good.