As down the glen one Easter morn to a city fair rode I
There armed lines of marching men in squadrons passed me by
No fife did hum, nor battle drum did sound its dread tattoo
But the Angelus bells o'er the Liffey's swell rang out through the foggy dew

Right proudly high over Dublin town they hung out the flag of war
't was better to die 'neath an Irish sky than at Suvla or Sud el Bar
And from the plains of Royal Meath strong men came hurrying through
While Brittania's Huns with their long range guns sailed in through the foggy dew

't was Britannia bade our Wild Geese go that small nations might be free
But their lonely graves are by Suvla's waves or the shore of the great North Sea
Oh, had they died by Pearse's side, or fought with Cathal Brugha
Their names we would keep where the Fenians sleep, 'neath the shroud of the foggy dew

But the bravest fell and the requiem bell rang mournfully and clear
For those who died that Eastertide in the springing of the year
And the world did gaze in deep amaze at those fearless men but few
Who bore the fight that freedom light might shine through the foggy dew

Traditional. Performed by The Dubliners.