Says Lloyd-George to Macpherson, "l give you the sack,
To uphold law and order you haven't the knack,
I'll send over Greenwood, a much stronger man,
And fill up the Green Isle with the bold Black and Tan."
He sent them all over to pillage and loot
And burn down the houses, the inmates to shoot .
" To re-conquer Ireland, he said, is my plan
With Macready and Co. and his bold Black and Tan."
The town of Balbriggan they've burned to the ground
While bullets Like hailstones were whizzing around;
And women left homeless by this evil clan.
They've waged war on the children, the bold Black and Tan.
From Dublin to Cork and from Thurles to Mayo
Lies a trail of destruction wherever they go;
With England to help and fierce passions to fan,
She must feel bloody proud of her bold Black and Tan.
Ah, then not by the terrors of England's foul horde,
For ne'er could a nation be ruled by the sword;
For our country we'll have yet in spite of her plan
Or ten times the number of bold Black and Tan.
We defeated Conscription in spite of their threats,
And we're going to defeat old Lloyd-George and his pets;
For Ireland and Freedom we're here to a man,
And we'll humble the pride of the bold Black and Tan.
To uphold law and order you haven't the knack,
I'll send over Greenwood, a much stronger man,
And fill up the Green Isle with the bold Black and Tan."
He sent them all over to pillage and loot
And burn down the houses, the inmates to shoot .
" To re-conquer Ireland, he said, is my plan
With Macready and Co. and his bold Black and Tan."
The town of Balbriggan they've burned to the ground
While bullets Like hailstones were whizzing around;
And women left homeless by this evil clan.
They've waged war on the children, the bold Black and Tan.
From Dublin to Cork and from Thurles to Mayo
Lies a trail of destruction wherever they go;
With England to help and fierce passions to fan,
She must feel bloody proud of her bold Black and Tan.
Ah, then not by the terrors of England's foul horde,
For ne'er could a nation be ruled by the sword;
For our country we'll have yet in spite of her plan
Or ten times the number of bold Black and Tan.
We defeated Conscription in spite of their threats,
And we're going to defeat old Lloyd-George and his pets;
For Ireland and Freedom we're here to a man,
And we'll humble the pride of the bold Black and Tan.
Contributed by Alessandro - 2009/10/5 - 22:13
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Canzone raccolta dallo scrittore e poeta irlandese Patrick Galvin nel suo volume "Irish Songs of Resistance" (1955)
Quando alla fine della prima guerra mondiale iniziò la guerra d'indipendenza irlandese, il primo ministro inglese David Lloyd George (con cui gli irlandesi erano incazzati di brutto perchè aveva esteso anche a loro la coscrizione obbligatoria) ed il suo braccio destro Ian Macpherson pensarono di poter sedare i disordini ricorrendo alla brutalità dei paramilitari, veri e propri squadroni della morte noti come "Black and Tans". Ciò non fece altro che incrementare la violenza e, in definitiva, accelerare il processo verso l'indipendenza (1922)... I "Black and Tans" o, meglio, i loro discendenti, continuarono però a fare a lungo il loro sporco lavoro di assassini nelle sei contee del nord, rimaste sotto occupazione inglese...
Sui paramilitari impiegati nella repressione in Irlanda si veda anche la canzone Come Out Ye Black And Tans