THE WOLFE TONES
JOE McDONNELL
[Verse 1]
G C G
O me name is Joe McDonnell, from Belfast town I came
C G D
That city I will never see again
G C G
For in the town of Belfast I spent many happy days
C G D
I love that town in oh so many ways
Am C Am C G
For it's there I spent my childhood and found for me a wife
Am C G D
I then set out to make for her a life
G C G
But all my young ambitions met with bitterness and hate
C G D
I soon found myself inside a prison gate
[Chorus]
Am C Am C G
And you dare call me a terrorist while you look down your gun
Am C G D
When I think of all the deeds that you have done
G
You had plundered many nations divided many lands
C Am C D
You had terrorised their peoples you ruled with an iron hand
G C D
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
G C G
Through those many months internment In the Maidstone and the Maze
C G D
I thought about my land throughout those days
G C G
Why my country was divided, why I was now in jail
C G D
Imprisoned without crime or without trial
Am C Am C G
And though I love my country I am not a bitter man
Am C G D
I've seen cruelty and injustice at first hand
Am C Am C G
So then one fateful morning I shook bold freedom's hand
C G D
For right or wrong I'd try to free my land
[Chorus]
Am C Am C G
And you dare call me a terrorist while you look down your gun
Am C G D
When I think of all the deeds that you have done
G
You had plundered many nations divided many lands
C Am C D
You had terrorised their peoples you ruled with an iron hand
G C D
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
G C G
Then one cold October morning trapped in a lion's den
C G D
I found myself in prison once again
G C G
I was committed to the H-blocks for fourteen years or more
C G D
Oh the Blankest the conditions they were poor
Am C Am C G
Then a hunger strike we did commence for the dignity of man
Am C G D
But it seemed to me that no one gave a damn
G C G
But now, I'm a saddened man I've watched my comrades die
C G D
If only people cared or wondered why
[Chorus]
Am C Am C G
And you dare call me a terrorist while you look down your gun
Am C G D
When I think of all the deeds that you have done
G
You had plundered many nations divided many lands
C Am C D
You had terrorised their peoples you ruled with an iron hand
G C D
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
G C G
May God shine on you Bobby Sands for the courage you have shown
C G D
May your glory and your fame be widely known
G C G
And Francis Hughes and Ray McCreesh who died unselfishly
C G D
And Patsy O Hara and the next in line is me
Am C Am C G
And those who lie behind me may you're courage be the same
Am C G D
And I pray to God my life is not in vain
G C G
Ah but sad and bitter was the year of 1981
C G D
For everything I've lost and nothing's won
Source: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/the_wolfe_tones/joe_mcdonnell_chords_2535942