The Fields of Athenry

The Fields of Athenry is a song about the Irish Famine of the late 1840s, which was composed in the 1980s by Pete St. John, a prolific composer of widely sung modern ballads; his other most famous song is Dublin in the rare ol' times. His songs often express regret for the loss of old certainties (the latter song regrets the loss of Nelson's Pillar and the Metropole Ballroom, two symbols of old Dublin, as progress makes a 'city of my town'). The Fields of Athenry is widely seen as the definitive folk song on the Famine, telling the story of the Famine through the personal experiences of someone gaoled and deported.

The song, which was first recorded by Irish ballad singer Paddy Reilly, recounts the tale of a mythical Irishman in prison, reporting the story he could hear through the prison walls of another prisoner who is being deported to Tasmania for stealing food to feed his starving family.

Table of contents

1 The Fields of Athenry
2 See Also
3 Footnote

The Fields of Athenry

(Through) My lonely prison wall, I heard a young girl calling,
Michael, they have taken you away.
For you stole Trevelan¹'s corn,
so the young might see the morn,
now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay.

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,
its so lonely (a)round the fields of Athenry.
''

My lonely prison wall, I heard a young man calling,
nothing matters Mary when your free.
Against the famine and the Crown,
I rebelled, they cut me down
Now you must raise your child with dignity.

Chorus

(By) My lonely harbour wall, she watched the last star falling,
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky,
For she'll live and hope and pray,
for her love in Botany Bay
Its so lonely around the fields of Athenry.

Chorus

The song has been recorded by many artists, but Paddy Reilly's original version, with Reilly's distinctive baritone vocalisation, and orchestral arrangement, is generally seen as the definitive version.

The song is also strongly associated with the Celtic soccer club in Glasgow, which has a strong association with Ireland. It is often chanted by supporters at matches.

A reggae version of the song was also recorded by the Century Steel Band in the early 1990s. The Dropkick Murphys also recorded a punk-rock version of this song on their album Blackout

Footnote

¹A senior British civil servant in the administration of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in Dublin Castle who saw the Famine in classic Malthusian theory as a natural means of 'controlling excessive population', Trevelyan is widely blamed for the inadequacy of the British Government's response. His reports to London underestimated the severity of the Famine and overestimated the problems that could arise in providing assistance to the starving.