As down the glen one Easter morn To a city fair rode I, There armed lines of marching men In squadrons passed me by. No pipe did hum, no battle drum Did sound its dread tattoo, But the Angelus bell o'er the Liffey swell, Rang out of the Foggy Dew.
Right proudly high over Dublin town They hung out the flag of war, 'Twas better to die 'neath an Irish sky Than at Suvla or at Sud el Bar; And from the plains of Royal Meath Strong man came hurrying through, While Britannia's Huns, with their long-range guns, Sailed in through the Foggy Dew.
But the bravest fell and the requiems bell Rang mournfully and clear, For those who died the Easter tide, In the springing of the year; While the world did gaze with deep amaze, At those fearless men but few, Who bore the fight, that freedom's light Might shine through the Foggy Dew.
'Twas England bade our Wild Geese go, That small nations might be free, But their lonely graves are by Suvla's waves Or the fringe of the great North Sea. Oh, had they died by Pearse's side Or fought with Cathal Brughe, Their names we'd keep where the Fenians sleep, 'Neath the shroud of the Foggy Dew.
And back through the glen I rode again And my heart with grief was sore For I parted then with valiant men Whom I never shall see more. But to and fro In my dreams I go And I kneel and pray for you For slavery fled Oh, glorious dead When you fell in the Foggy Dew.