Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE WEARIN' O' THE GREEN, by ANONYMOUS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE WEARIN' O' THE GREEN, by                    
First Line: "o paddy dear, an' did ye hear the news that's goin' round?"
Last Line: "and where, please god, I'll stick to wearin' o' the green"
Subject(s): Freedom;ireland;patriotism;st. Patrick's Day; Liberty;irish


O PADDY dear, an' did you hear the news that is
goin' round?
The shamrock is forbid by law to grow on Irish
ground;
St. Patrick's Day no more we'll keep; his colors
can't be seen:
For there's a cruel law agin' the wearin' of the
green.
I met with Napper Tandy, and he tuk me by the
hand,
And he said, "How's poor ould Ireland, and how
does she stand?"
She's the most distressful country that ever yet
was seen:
They are hangin' men and women there for wear-
in' of the green.

An' if the color we must wear is England's cruel
red,
Sure Ireland's sons will ne'er forget the blood that
they have shed.
Then pull the shamrock from your hat and cast it
on the sod,
And never fear, 't will take root there, though
under foot 't is trod.
When law can stop the blades of grass from grow-
in' as they grow,
And when the leaves in summer-time their color
dare not show,
When I will change the color, too, I wear in my
caubeen;
But till that day, please God, I'll stick to wear-
in' of the green.

But if at last our color should be torn from Ire-
land's heart,
Her sons with shame and sorrow from the dear
old isle will part:
I've heard a whisper of a land that lies beyond
the sea,
Where rich and poor stand equal in the light of
freedom's day.
O Erin, must we leave your driven by a tyrant's
hand?
Must we ask a mother's blessin' from a strange
and distant land?
Where the cruel cross of England shall never-
more be seen,
And where, please God, we'll live and die still
wearin' of the green.




Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net