The history and politics of the English protest song

After 1840

Reform and Repeal! Or, the English Radical's Plea for Ireland

Tune: Unknown
Lyrics: Unknown

Ye working men of England,
Who by your labour live,
And all lovers of freedom,
To me attention givel
The brave sons of Hibernia,
Who seek their country’s weal,
Are join’d in peaceful union,
For to obtain Repeal.
So let English, Scotch, and Irishmen,
One bond of union feel,
In freedom’s cause, for equal laws,
The O’Connell and Repeal.

That Ireland has been long oppress’d,
Englishmen now well know,
But the same power that struck her down,
Likewise kept England low;
Both wallow’d in blind prejudice
For the interest of knaves,
But now they see their folly,
And no longer will be slaves.
So let, &c.

Rouse up ye men of Scotland,
Whose sires by Bruce was led,
When struggling for their liberty,
And Wallace fought and bled;
Come join this sacred union,
Of Peace, Order, and Law,
To obtain Repeal for your own weal,
And sweet Erin go Bragh.
So let, &c.

See, see, how Ireland’s deadliest foes,
With threatening aspect stand,
The course of justice to oppose,
And desolate the land,
Let them beware—if Erin’s struck,
Britain the blow will feel,
And their own ruin pave the way
To freedom and Repeal.
So let, &c.

Oh, how this peaceful movement,
Would rejoice the patriot dead,
Could they behold the glorious cause,
For which young Emmet bled;
Guided by justice, Temperance, Law,
We need no lead or steel,
To gain a bloodless victory,
For freedom and Repeal.
So let, &c.

So, success to Dan O’Connell,
And Feargus O’Connor too,
Henceforth like Brothers may they strive,
All tyrants to subdue,
May the English, Irish, and the Scotch,
Their future union seal,
By a full reform for each and all,
The Charter and Repeal.

Lyrics

A generation earlier, ‘English, Scotch, and Irishmen’ songs had been used as pro-Union, patriotic propaganda. This Chartist slip song, printed in Preston, inverts that ideology as it calls for the repeal of the 1801 union, seeking to make common cause against oppression, invoking Robert Bruce, William Wallace, and the provocative slogan ‘Erin go bragh’ (Ireland Forever).

Cause: Chartist | Collectivist | Nationalist
Theme: Political Process | Rights | War and Peace
Addressed to: Workers | English
Target of Protest: Elected Representatives | Political Faction
Proposal/Solution: Repeal | Independence/Secession