Oh me name is Joe McDonnell from Belfast town I came

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 all so many ways

For it's there I spent my childhood and found for me a wife
I then set out to make for me 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 things that you have done
You have plundered many nations divided many lands
You had terrorised my people you ruled with an iron hand
And you brought this reign of terror to my land

[2]
Through those many months internment in the maidstone and the maze
I thought about my land throught 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 faithful morning I shook bold freedom's hand
For right or wrong I'tried to free my land

[Repeat chorus]
Then one cold october morning trapped in a lion's den
I found myself in prison once again
I was committed to the H-Blocks for 14 years or more
On the blanket the conditions they were poor

Then a hunger strike we did commence for the dignity of man
But it seemed to me that no one gave a damm
But now I am a saddened man I watched my comrades die
If only people cared or wondered why

[Repeat chorus]
May God shine on you Bobby Sands for the courage you have shown
May your glory and your fame be widely known
And Francis Hughes and Ray McCreesh who died unselfishly
And Patsy O Hara and the next in line ios me

And those who lie behind me may your courage be the same
And I pray to God my life is not in vain
Ah but sad and bitter was the year of 1981
For everything I've lost and nothing's won