Irish traditional song lyrics — collected by Beer Belly Band.
They say the Easter Lily blooms no more, no more in Erin
Now the Irish dance to different tunes and scorn the lily’s wearin’
While in Flanders Field the poppies grow in bright blood red perfusion
A badge of pride no more, no more, a badge of shame and treason
Chorus:
Ireland, Oh Ireland, what have you become
Ireland, Oh Ireland, they were all your sons
Freedom is a fragile flower a poppy of lily
Withered by dreams that soon turn sour in this land of empty bellies
So once more, once more, our wild geese flew to freedom’s false horizon
To seek an age old Irish rendezvous with suffering, grief and mourning
Chorus
Far from here the wild geese fly past hate and love and caring
In countless graves they nameless lie the long lost sons of Erin
The passing years shall not condemn those who those lie beneath the poppy
When from the same green slender stem there grew an Easter Lily
Chorus