The Fields Of Athenry
"The Fields of Athenry" is a song written in 1979 by Pete St. John in the style of an Irish folk ballad. Set during the Great Famine of the 1840s, the lyrics feature a fictional man from near Athenry in County Galway, who stole food for his starving family and has been sentenced to transportation to the Australian penal colony at Botany Bay. It has become a widely known, popular anthem for Irish sports supporters.
[Verse 1]
By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young girl calling
Michael they are taking you away
So the young might see the morn
Now a prison ship lay waiting in the bay
[Chorus]
Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
We had Dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry
[Verse 2]
By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young man calling
Nothing matters Mary when you're free
Against the famine and the crown
I rebelled they cut me down
Now you must raise our child with dignity
[Chorus]
Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had Dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry
[Verse 3]
By a lonely harbour wall
She watched the last star falling
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky
For she lives to hope and pray
For her love in Botany bay
It's so lonely around the fields of Athenry