| lyric | 1. High upon the gallows tree swung the noble hearted three,
by the vengeful tyrant stricken in their bloom
but they met him face to face with the courage of the race,
and they went with souls undaunted to their doom.
Ref: God save Ireland, said they all,
whether on the scaffold high
or the battlefield we die,
o what matter if for Ireland dear we fall.
2. Girt around with cruel foes, still their courage proudly rose,
For they thought of hearts that loved them far and near,
Of the millions true and brave o’er the ocean’s swelling wave,
And the friend of holy Ireland ever dear.
3. Climbed they up the rugged stair, rang their voices out in prayer,
Then with England’s fatal cord around them cast,
Close beside the gallows tree, kissed like brothers lovingly,
True to home and faith and freedom to the last.
4. Never till the latest day shall the memory pass away,
Oh, the gallant lives thus given for our land,
But on the cause must go amid joy or weal or woe,
Till we make our Isle a nation free and grand. |