Joe McDonnell (1983 version) The Wolfe Tones

Oh, me name is Joe McDonnell, from Belfast town I came
That city I will never see again
For in the town of Belfast I spent many happy days
I love that town in oh so many ways
For it's there I spent my childhood and found for me a wife
I then set out to make for her a life

But all my young ambitions met with bitterness and hate
I soon found myself inside a prison gate

[Chorus]
And you dare to call me a terrorist, while you look down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you have done
You have plundered many nations; divided many lands
You have terrorised their peoples, you ruled with an iron hand
And you brought this reign of terror to my land

Through those many months internment
In the Maidstone and the Maze
I thought about my land throughout those days
Why my country was divided, why I was now in jail
Imprisoned without crime or without trial
And though I love my country, I am not a bitter man
I've seen cruelty and injustice at first hand

So then, one fateful morning, I shook bold freedom's hand
For right or wrong, I'd try to free my land