Clare's Dragoons Lyrics
The Cassidy'sMusic Video
Clare's Dragoons
When on Ramilles' bloody field
The baffled French were forced to yield,
The victor Saxon backward reeled
Before the charge of Clare's Dragoons.
The flags we conquered in that fray
Look lone in Ypres choir they say,
We´ll win them company today,
Or bravely die like Clare's Dragoons.
Viva la, for Ireland's wrong!
Viva la, for Ireland's right!
Viva la, in battle throng,
For a Spanish steed and a sabre bright!
The brave old lord died near the fight,
But for each drop he lost that night
A Saxon cavalier shall bite
The dust, before Lord Clare's Dragoons.
For never, when our spurs were set,
And never, when our sabres met,
Could we the Saxon soldiers get
To stand the shock of Clare's dragoons.
Viva la, the New Brigade!
Viva la, the old one too!
Viva la, the Rose shall fade
And the Shamrock shine for ever new!
Another Clare is here to lead
The worthy son of such a breed;
The French expect some famous deed,
When Clare leads on his bold Dragoons.
Our Colonel comes from Brians race,
His wounds are in his breast and face,
The bearna baoghail is still his place,
The foremost of his bold Dragoons.
Viva la, the New Brigade!
Viva la, the old one too!
Viva la, the Rose shall fade
And the Shamrock shine for ever new!
O comrades! Think how Ireland pines,
Her exiled lords, her rifled shrines,
Her dearest hope the ordered lines
And bursting charge of Clare´s Dragoons.
Then fling the Green Flag to the sky,
And 'Limerick!' be your battle cry,
And charge til blood flows fetlock-high
Around the track of Clare's Dragoons!
Viva la, the New Brigade!
Viva la, the old one too!
Viva la, the Rose shall fade
And the Shamrock shine for ever new!
Song Details
Composer: Thomas Osborne Davis (1814 - 1845), from Mallow, County Cork, Ireland.
Publication Date: 1860 (The poems of Thomas Davis).
Alternate Title: Fenian War Echoes
Other Notable Works: A Nation Once Again
Song Brief:
Clare’s Dragoons is a spirited Irish marching song honouring the famous Clare regiment, part of the Irish Brigade that served in France after the Williamite Wars. The lyrics celebrate courage, loyalty, and the pride of Irish soldiers fighting far from home.
- Dragoons - a combat arm of the cavalry for action on horseback and on foot.
- Saxon - A poetic or historical term used to refer to English soldiers or, more broadly, English forces. In Irish songs, it often appears as a shorthand for the opposing side in earlier conflicts.
- Ypres - a town in W Belgium, in W Flanders province near the border with France: scene of many sieges and battles.
- Brian's race - A poetic way of referring to the Irish people, drawing on the legendary High King Brian Boru. “Brian’s race” means “the descendants of Brian,” symbolising Irish heritage and identity.
- The Rose shall fade: A symbolic phrase meaning glory or honour may pass away.
- bearna baoghail - gap of danger.
This is an excerpt from the Irish Translation Forum on the meaning of these words:
The "Gap of Danger" refers to a battle in the rising of 1798, as John Kelly (Maybe ye know the song Kelly the Boy from Killane?) led a charge against the Bewley Gates in the seige of New Ross. The location of the battle was given the name "Bearna Baoghal" and became a symbol of the danger that the Irish were willing to face in order to gain their freedom.
Genre: Irish Folk Song, Political, Soldiering
Covers: The Go Lucky Four, Na Casaidigh, Dublin Rogues.
Featured Artists: Na Casaidigh (also known as The Cassidy's) - Traditional Irish group originally from Gweedore, County Donegal.
Album: 1691
Released: 1992
Country: Ireland
Format: CD
Label: Gael-Linn
