Dublin City 1913 Lyrics

In Dublin City in 1913 The boss was boss and the employee the slave The women worked and the child went hungry Til Larkin came like a towering wave The worker cringed when the bossman thundered And seventy hours was their weekly chore They asked for little and less was granted Lest getting little they might ask for more Then came Larkin in 1913 A mighty man with a powerful tongue The voice of labour, the voice of justice And he was gifted as he was young God gave us Larkin in 1913 A powerful man with a mighty tongue He raised the workers, he gave us courage He was our leader, the workers' son In 1913 the bossman told us No union man for him might work We stood by Larkin, we told the bossman To fight, to starve, we would never shirk 8 months we fought and 8 months we starved We stood by Larkin through thick and thin But foodless homes and starving children They broke our hearts and we could not win Then Larkin left us, we seemed defeated The night seemed dark for our workless men But Connolly came with new hope and courage And raised the slogan, "We rise again" In Dublin City in 1916 The British Army they shelled the town They burned our city, the shot our leaders The harp was shattered beneath the crown They shot MacDiarmad and Pearse and Plunkett They shot MacDonagh and Clarke the brave From bleak Kilmainham they took Ceannt's body To Arbour Hill and a quicklime grave But last of all of these seven hereos A dying man, they shot Connolly The voice of labour, the voice of justice He gave his life that we might be free