Nineteen Men Irish Song Lyrics And Chords
Written by Dermot Hegarty
This song has the same melody as ''The Rising Of The Moon Song'' and is all about the escape from Portlaoise prison by members of the Provisional I.R.A. The song was recorded by The Dublin City Ramblers.
This song has the same melody as ''The Rising Of The Moon Song'' and is all about the escape from Portlaoise prison by members of the Provisional I.R.A. The song was recorded by The Dublin City Ramblers.
Tin whistle notes to Nineteen Men are in the Irish Rebel Songs For Tin Whistle
[Chorus]
There's[C] nineteen men are missing,and they[G] didn't use the door,
Just[F] blew a little[C] hole where there[G] wasn't one be[C]fore,
Now[C] the army and the gardai are[G] searching high and low,
For the[F] men from[C] Portlaoise town who[G] vanished like the[C] snow
[1]
On the eighteenth day of august in the good year '74
A blast occurred in Portlaoise town that was heard through every door,
And when the smoke and dust had cleared,there rose a mighty cheer,
For those within who helped to plan the jailbreak of the year.
[2]
The word to Dublin quickly spread,and on the news was said,
That special branch detectives,would soon capture those who fled,
And then appeared upon this land,checkpoints with soldiers armed,
Who vowed to capture those who caused the minister such alarm.
[3]
To Ireland's rebel country these brave men made quick escape,
To a quiet town called Gorey,the boys sat down and dined in state,
And now I hear there's plans afoot,with morter brick and stone,
To build a brand new prison,and to call it Provo. home
There's[C] nineteen men are missing,and they[G] didn't use the door,
Just[F] blew a little[C] hole where there[G] wasn't one be[C]fore,
Now[C] the army and the gardai are[G] searching high and low,
For the[F] men from[C] Portlaoise town who[G] vanished like the[C] snow
[1]
On the eighteenth day of august in the good year '74
A blast occurred in Portlaoise town that was heard through every door,
And when the smoke and dust had cleared,there rose a mighty cheer,
For those within who helped to plan the jailbreak of the year.
[2]
The word to Dublin quickly spread,and on the news was said,
That special branch detectives,would soon capture those who fled,
And then appeared upon this land,checkpoints with soldiers armed,
Who vowed to capture those who caused the minister such alarm.
[3]
To Ireland's rebel country these brave men made quick escape,
To a quiet town called Gorey,the boys sat down and dined in state,
And now I hear there's plans afoot,with morter brick and stone,
To build a brand new prison,and to call it Provo. home
Nineteen Men Chords In G Major
There's[G] nineteen men are missing,and they[D] didn't use the door,
Just[C] blew a little[G] hole where there[D] wasn't one be[G]fore,
Now[G] the army and the gardai are[D] searching high and low,
For the[C] men from[G] Portlaoise town who[D] vanished like the[G] snow
Just[C] blew a little[G] hole where there[D] wasn't one be[G]fore,
Now[G] the army and the gardai are[D] searching high and low,
For the[C] men from[G] Portlaoise town who[D] vanished like the[G] snow
This song tells the tale of nineteen slippery lads who didn’t bother with such trivial notions as “doors” or “official exit procedures.”
No — they simply rearranged the wall with explosive enthusiasm,
and then walked out like lads leaving a pub at closing time.
The army and the Gardaí tore the countryside apart searching for them --
probably checking under sheep, behind hedges, and in the back of pubs --
but the boys from Portlaoise had vanished like the last drop of whiskey in a glass.
On August 18th, 1974, there was a bang so big
that houses rattled, kettles jumped,
and half of Portlaoise didn’t know whether to
call for the Guard or make popcorn.
When the dust settled,
instead of panic there was a mighty cheer,
because you have to admire the logistics of it --
prison breaks are one thing,
but nineteen fellas?
That’s not an escape — that’s a parade!
The news spread to Dublin like the flu at Christmas:
Special Branch detectives swore they'd catch them,
re-capture them,
de-escape them…
something like that anyway.
Checkpoints sprang up faster than potholes in February.
Soldiers with guns,
guards with clipboards,
all convinced they’d snag the escapees --
but sure the lads were already half a county away
having a laugh.
Where did they end up?
Why, in Gorey --
the VIP hideout of County Wexford,
where they sat down to dine like feckin’ royalty.
Probably steak, spuds, and smuggled stout,
with one lad raising his glass and saying:
“To freedom, boys — and feck the back door!”
Now the punchline:
There’s talk of building a brand new prison,
reinforced with brick, stone, steel, concrete,
and possibly divine intervention,
and they’re thinking of naming it:
"Provo Home."
Imagine that sign on the gate --
like a hotel for rebels,
except with locks that hopefully don’t explode.
In short:
It’s a song celebrating Irish ingenuity,
national-level mischief,
and the ability to turn a jailbreak
into a folk legend --
all with a bit of ballsy daring
and a whole heap of craic.
Slán go fóill!
No — they simply rearranged the wall with explosive enthusiasm,
and then walked out like lads leaving a pub at closing time.
The army and the Gardaí tore the countryside apart searching for them --
probably checking under sheep, behind hedges, and in the back of pubs --
but the boys from Portlaoise had vanished like the last drop of whiskey in a glass.
On August 18th, 1974, there was a bang so big
that houses rattled, kettles jumped,
and half of Portlaoise didn’t know whether to
call for the Guard or make popcorn.
When the dust settled,
instead of panic there was a mighty cheer,
because you have to admire the logistics of it --
prison breaks are one thing,
but nineteen fellas?
That’s not an escape — that’s a parade!
The news spread to Dublin like the flu at Christmas:
Special Branch detectives swore they'd catch them,
re-capture them,
de-escape them…
something like that anyway.
Checkpoints sprang up faster than potholes in February.
Soldiers with guns,
guards with clipboards,
all convinced they’d snag the escapees --
but sure the lads were already half a county away
having a laugh.
Where did they end up?
Why, in Gorey --
the VIP hideout of County Wexford,
where they sat down to dine like feckin’ royalty.
Probably steak, spuds, and smuggled stout,
with one lad raising his glass and saying:
“To freedom, boys — and feck the back door!”
Now the punchline:
There’s talk of building a brand new prison,
reinforced with brick, stone, steel, concrete,
and possibly divine intervention,
and they’re thinking of naming it:
"Provo Home."
Imagine that sign on the gate --
like a hotel for rebels,
except with locks that hopefully don’t explode.
In short:
It’s a song celebrating Irish ingenuity,
national-level mischief,
and the ability to turn a jailbreak
into a folk legend --
all with a bit of ballsy daring
and a whole heap of craic.
Slán go fóill!
