1841
The Lion of Freedom is Come From His Den
| Tune: | Unknown |
| Lyrics: | ‘A Welsh Chartist Woman’ |
The Lion of Freedom is come from his den;
We’ll rally around him, again and again:
We’ll crown him with laurel, our champion to be:
O’Connor the patriot: for sweet Liberty!
The pride of the people—He's noble and brave—
A terror to tyrants—a friend to the slave:
The bright star of Freedom—the noblest of men:
We’ll rally around him, again and again.
Who strove for the patriots—was up night and day—
To save them from falling to tyrants a prey?
’Twas fearless O’Connor was diligent then:
We’ll rally around him, again and again.
Though proud daring tyrants his body confined,
They never could conquer his generous mind:
We’ll hail our caged lion, now freed from his den:
We’ll rally around him, again and again.
Though attributed variously to Thomas Cooper and its own subject, Feargus O’Connor, this hagiographic celebration of O’Connor’s liberation from prison was, according to Cooper, written by an anonymous Welsh female Chartist, demonstrating the movement’s broad base. Its anti-tyrannical hyperbole was well suited to its use when sung by crowds in the streets of Leicester and Nottingham, leading to the deployment of armed horsemen and several arrests.
| Cause: | Chartist |
| Theme: | Political Process | Rights |
| Addressed to: | Activists |
| Target of Protest: | Judiciary |
| Proposal/Solution: | Organisation |