Follow Me Up to Carlow

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Lift MacCahir Og your face
Brooding o'er the old disgrace
That black FitzWilliam stormed your place,
Drove you to the Fern
Gray said victory was sure
Soon the firebrand he'd secure;
Until he met at Glenmalure
With Feach MacHugh O'Byrne.

Curse and swear Lord Kildare,
Feach will do what Feach will dare
Now FitzWilliam, have a care
Fallen is your star, low.
Up with halberd out with sword
On we'll go for by the lord
Feach MacHugh has given the word,
Follow me up to Carlow.

See the swords of Glen Imayle,
Flashing o'er the English pale
See all the children of the Gael,
Beneath O'Byrne's banners
Rooster of the fighting stock,
Would you let a Saxon cock
Crow out upon an Irish rock,
Fly up and teach him manners.

From Tassagart to Clonmore,
There flows a stream of Saxon gore
Oh, great is Rory Oge O'More,
At sending loons to Hades.
White is sick and Lane is fled,
Now for black FitzWilliam's head
We'll send it over, dripping red,
To Liza and her ladies.

Follow Me Up to Carlow is a traditional Irish song celebrating the victory of Fiach (Feach) McHugh O'Byrne over the English at the Battle of Glenmalure in County Wicklow during the Second Desmond Rebellion (1580). The song depicts drastic details, such as rivers of blood and the beheading of Black Fitzwilliam. The text for Follow Me Up to Carlow was written by Patrick Joseph McCall (1861-1919). The melody is said to have been played by the musicians during the battle. The song is in a minor key written and is in 6 / 8 -Stroke.

Recordings

Follow Me Up to Carlow has been recorded by numerous bands and musicians:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Follow Me up to Carlow at www.flutetunes.com, accessed Aug. 19, 2016
  2. ↑ Follow Me up to Carlow at www.8notes.com, accessed 19 Aug 2016
  3. ↑ Discography at larrymathews.de ( Memento from November 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive )