Dropkick Murphys – Fields Of Athenry lyrics

Dropkick Murphys – Fields Of Athenry lyrics

By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young girl calling
Michael, they have taken you away
For you stole Trevelyn's corn
So the young might see the morn
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay

Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing we had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry

By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young man calling
Nothing matters, Mary when you're free
Against the famine and the Crown
I rebelled, they cut me down
Now you must raise our child with dignity

Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing we had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry

By a lonely harbor wall
She watched the last star falling
As that prison ship sailed out against the sky
Sure she'll wait and hope and pray
For her love in Botany Bay
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry

Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing we had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry

Lyrics taken from /lyrics/d/dropkick_murphys/fields_of_athenry.html

Songwriters: ALEXANDER MARTIN BARR, KENNETH WILLIAM CASEY, MARC JOHN ORRELL, MATTHEW KELLY

Fields Of Athenry lyrics © MEMORY LANE MUSIC GROUP

hot lyrics

Fields Of Athenry meanings

Best
Recent
3 meanings

U

+ 3
Unregistered 2015-11-18 13:22:51

Yes! Obviously, it's about the famine time in Ireland when the natives were kept down. The lad in the song was caught stealing corn for to feed his family. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at the time was Lord Trevelyan. One of the Biggest Bollix's in Irish History. "THE prison ship lies waiting in the bay". Any Irish person at that time if caught committing a crime, small, real or imagined were shipped off to Australia never to return. Any Australian person who can trace their roots back to an "Irish convict" are proud of the fact.

Add your reply
U

+ 2
Unregistered 2012-03-22 22:54:42

The british could have sent food to ireland during the famine. They did'nt. Infact the lords and aristocrates. The landowners were exporting food to britain at the time of the famine. The british government could have stopped this and sent food over to ireland. They didn't care. They didn't even care for their own citizens. The lords and dukes etc. The landowners, the judiciary sent 100's of thousands of the working class english, welsh and scots to australia. To populate it! For stealing anything from a handkerchief to a potato. Including young children. You could evn be hanged in england for stealing. Right up to the 1940's young children were sent from liverpool to australia, south africa, rhodesia. Which is now the zimbawe to populate the empire. The landowners were the thieves, robbers, and they still are now. The crown and aristocracy are nothing more than parasitic leeches. This is a fantastic song about the struggle in ireland.

1 reply
U

+ 2
Unregistered 2012-02-21 18:47:19

The meaning is historically clear. Trevelyan decided to starve the hated irish out of their own country and set about escalating the famine. Michael, in the song, was caught stealing food to keep his family from starving. For this, he was sent to botany bay (australia) as a criminal. Obviously, the british sought to abolish or kill any and all irish upon whom they could lay a crime. Just who were the real ciminals?

Add your reply

Write about your feelings and thoughts about Fields Of Athenry

Know what this song is about? Does it mean anything special hidden between the lines to you? Share your meaning with community, make it interesting and valuable. Make sure you've read our simple .

U

or log in with

Min 50 words

Not bad

Good

Awesome!

View 10 more explanations

Add your explanation

Write an explanation

20 words

Good

Cool

Awesome!

Explanation guidelines:

Describe what artist is trying to say in a certain line, whether it's personal feelings, strong statement or something else.
Provide song facts, names, places and other worthy info that may give readers a perfect insight on the song's meaning.
Add links, pictures and videos to make your explanation more appealing. Provide quotes to support the facts you mention.

Before you get started, be sure to check out these explanations created by our users: good, very good, great.

Request explanation

Ask us or our community about the part of the song that interests you
We will try to respond as soon as possible

0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z