Verse 1

Men and boys of every age came down to take a stand

Led by women, proud and strong they called the Cumannn ma mBan

And on the day the good Lord rose to save us from our sins

We stood as one, our hearts combined let liberty begin

Chorus

And the shells were going above our heads and the bullets they passed us by

But Patrick Pearse, he stood us firm saying “liberty or die”

Verse 2

For centuries they held us down, but change is coming fast

England were distracted fighting wars in Belgium and France

We called on ghosts of heroes from 1798 when Wolftone and McCracken they died for an Irish state

Chorus

And the shells were going above our heads and the bullets they passed us by

But Patrick Pearse, he stood us firm saying “liberty or die”

Verse 3

For near a week we held our ground and made our purpose known

They brought in 16000 and eventually wore us down

They took our leaders, all 16, who taught and fought and bled

They lined them up in the barrack’s walls and shot them in the head

Chorus

And the shells were going above our heads and the bullets they passed us by

But Patrick Pearse, he stood us firm saying “liberty or die”

Verse 4

Fuck the crown and William Lowe and fuck the Black and Tans

If England hadn’t thieved our land, we wouldn’t be taking this stand

For centuries we’ve been shat on, controlled and beaten down

But here we are, we take our stand right here in Dublin town

Chorus

And the shells were going above our heads and the bullets they passed us by

But Patrick Pearse, he stood us firm saying “liberty or die”

They shot poor Patrick Kelly and left him in the cold

He died crying for his mother; he was only 10 years old!