Luke Kelly: Battle Of The Somme/Freedom Come All Ye

Roch the win i the clear day’s dawin
Blaws the clouds heilster-gowdie owre the bay
But thair’s mair nor a roch win blawin
Thro the Great Glen o the warl the day
It’s a thocht that wad gar our rottans
Aa thae rogues that gang gallus fresh an gay
Tak the road an seek ither loanins
Wi thair ill-ploys tae sport an play

Nae mair will our bonnie callants
Merch tae war whan our braggarts crousely craw
Nor wee weans frae pitheid an clachan
Murn the ships sailin doun the Broomielaw
Broken faimilies in launs we’ve hairriet
Will curse ‘Scotlan the Brave’ nae mair, nae mair
Black an white ane-til-ither mairriet
Mak the vile barracks o thair maisters bare

Sae come aa ye at hame wi freedom
Never heed whit the houdies croak for Doom
In yer hous aa the bairns o Aidam
Will fin breid, barley-bree an paintit room
Whan MacLean meets wi’s friens in Springburn
Aa thae roses an geeans will turn tae blume
An a black laud frae yont Nyanga
Dings the fell gallows o the burghers doun.

Translation

It’s a rough wind in the clear day’s dawning
Blows the clouds head-over-heels across the bay
But there’s more than a rough wind blowing
Through the Great Glen of the world today

It’s a thought that would make our rodents,

All those rogues who strut and swagger,
Take the road and seek other pastures
To carry out their wicked schemes

No more will our fine young men
March to war at the behest of jingoists and imperialists

Nor will young children from mining communities and rural hamlets
Mourn the ships sailing off down the River Clyde

Broken families in lands we’ve helped to oppress
will never again have reason to curse the sound of advancing Scots

Black and white, united in friendship and marriage,
Will result in the military garrisons being adandoned and empty

So come all you who love freedom
Pay no attention to the prophets of doom

In your house all the children of Adam
Will be welcomed with food, drink and hospitality

When the spirit of John MacLean returns to his people

All the flowers will blossom
And black Africa will bring crashing down
All Imperialism’s dreadful apparatus of oppression.

http://www.soundsirish.com/search/?pid=71

Duration : 0:4:52


[youtube Rl7MYTTHUFg]

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25 Responses to Luke Kelly: Battle Of The Somme/Freedom Come All Ye

  1. schiple says:

    granny was born in …
    granny was born in Scotland, lived with Luke and his family until her death in 1953. Last name was MacDonald.

  2. irishgeal1 says:

    u have got to love …
    u have got to love lukes smiling eyes, pure irish only, as well as the voice.

  3. Yorgar says:

    srry but he’s irish …
    srry but he’s irish born in Dublin

  4. murrymurrymurrymurry says:

    lol
    lol

  5. Eire32FukDaBrits says:

    Fuck our history… …
    our history…it holds us back, but dont 4get it.

    Catholic+Protestant+watever d u believe in = Harmony, which = Eire 32

  6. TheSoulboy90 says:

    @irishgeal1
    Aye, …

    @irishgeal1
    Aye, he must have learned it from his dear auld granny!

  7. paddykelsall says:

    Outstanding. I …
    Outstanding. I think this is Kelly at his best.

  8. irishgeal1 says:

    lukes got the …
    lukes got the nicest scottish acsent i ever heard.

  9. TheODubhthaigh says:

    Russell was a …
    Russell was a Catholic nationalist who had no difficulty adhering to fascism. He was one of the people who disagreed with DeValera only in terms of tactics and the limit of his imagination was ‘Brits Out’ and we’ll all be fine. This to him was a principle and he never understood the need for revolutionaries to create a society better than the one they are trying to destroy. Sadly, Not much has changed.

  10. DonegalRaymie201 says:

    I’m always happy to …
    I’m always happy to discuss/argue Irish history, just insist it’s the whole truth, warts & all version we debate. Have no time for air-brushed/ green-tinted specs accounts. From what you’ve said, nor do you?
    As to the “admission of idiocy” jibe, I thought you were refusing to play/ respond! Whether that is a Donegal/Scots trait? Don’t know, wouldn’t be surprising if we share many such traits, we’ve never been out of each others pockets, historically speaking!

  11. DonegalRaymie201 says:

    @TheODubhthaigh

    @TheODubhthaigh
    Apology accepted gladly! I’m not so sure where you and I do disagree after all. Perhaps more of a misunderstanding?
    Like you I am very proud of the Irish who fought Nazism. It was their treatment on returning that I adhorr. And you’re right about Frank Ryan’s men in the Spanish Civil War, which makes Russell’s dalliance with the Nazis all the more surprising!
    Worth mentioning the Bishops’ blessing of the Blueshirts at Dunleary as they “sailed beneath the swastika to Spain”..

  12. TheODubhthaigh says:

    Incidentally, I …
    Incidentally, I take a jaundiced view on Irish Neutrality in WW2 and I am certainly no admirer of Devalera. Over 250,000 Irishmen fought the Nazis. Before that, Irishmen fought and died in the Spanish Civil War in the preliminary bout. Most of those men came from the IRA and from the CPI. Their names, and their graves are still honoured in Spain and in the Basque country.
    More to follow. Sorrry I called you stupid, your posts since have proved that you are not.

  13. TheODubhthaigh says:

    To DonegalRaymie,

    To DonegalRaymie,
    And by the way, I have been accused of diehard views, usually by people who had no answers, and who wanted to pretend that everything was normal and who stuck their heads in the sand whenever things got hairy in this country.
    The one thing I was never accused of was idiocy.
    Maybe this is a Donegal/Scotland idiosyncracy that you attach labels like that to people who disagree with your beliefs?

  14. TheODubhthaigh says:

    To DonegalRaymie:

    To DonegalRaymie:
    My applogiesfirst about the author of the song. You are right and I am wrong, it was indeed Hamish Henderson who wrote it.
    I was trying to address the issues of history raised by the song. In doing so, I was probably too dogmatic and maybe even insulting. For this I appologise.
    The fact remains that the song was a celebration of the end of the evil entity which was the British Empire. I st

  15. AtticusStount says:

    It’s actually …
    It’s actually pronunciation:)

  16. AtticusStount says:

    Hard to trace! The …
    Hard to trace! The Irish and the Scots are part of the same celtic tribe, so to speak, the Scotti.

  17. irishgeal1 says:

    great stuff by john …
    great stuff by john and nicely polished off by luke.

  18. montrosefan says:

    And where will we …
    And where will we find a voice like his today?

  19. eiland48 says:

    Luke Kelly : De …
    Luke Kelly : De beste zanger die Ierland ooit heeft gehad. Geniet elke dag van hem.

  20. DonegalRaymie201 says:

    @kellyoneill

    @kellyoneill
    Thanks Kelly. That Granny seems to have had quite an influence on Luke by the sound of this!
    I’m still stunned by how seriously Luke took perfecting the pronounciation here. It’s flawless as far as I can tell!
    Didn’t do things by half out Luke.

  21. kellyoneill says:

    Yeah it came back …
    Yeah it came back into print a few years ago, ebay had a few copies and amazon has it,
    I’m not sure about the folk club still being there I will check it out and see if I can find anything :)

  22. Chomuno says:

    Can we find it in …
    Can we find it in Internet? I’d be pleased to read it!
    A folk club you say? Does it exist today?

  23. kellyoneill says:

    In a folk club in …
    In a folk club in England,
    have you read Des Geraghty’s book?
    it’s called “Luke Kelly A memoir”
    it’s a brilliant book.

  24. Chomuno says:

    Really? Greit info. …
    Really? Greit info… And do you know how did Ewan MacColl meet Luke?

  25. kellyoneill says:

    Aye Luke’s …
    Aye Luke’s Grandmother was Scottish