Down by the Glenside - Seth Staton Watkins ft. Thomas Wyatt Watkins
Down by the Glenside was written by Peadar Kearney, an Irish Republican and composer of numerous rebel songs, including "The Soldier's Song" ("Amhrán na bhFiann"), now the Irish National Anthem, and "The Tri-coloured Ribbon".
Kearney was a Fenian, officially those belonging to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He wrote the song in proximity to the 1916 Easter Rising, referring back to the earlier Fenian Rising of 1867. The song calls upon the eternal memory of the freedom-fighters of the previous generation as recalled by an old woman down by the glenside. It is a call to arms for a generation of Irishmen accustomed to political nationalism.
Follow along with the lyrics below:
Twas down by the glenside, I met an old woman
A-plucking young nettles, she ne’er saw me coming
I listened a while to the song she was humming
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men
'Tis fifty long years since I saw the moon beaming
On strong manly forms, on eyes with hope gleaming
I see them again, sure, in all my sad dreaming
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men.
When I was a young girl, their marching and drilling
Awoke in the glenside sounds awesome and thrilling
They loved dear old Ireland, to die they were willing
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men.
Some died by the hillside, some died near a stranger
And wise men have told us their cause was a failure
But they fought for old Ireland and they never feared danger
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men
I passed on my way, God be praised that I met her
Be life long or short, I will never forget her
We may have brave men, but we'll never have better
Glory O, Glory O, to the bold Fenian men