Irish Republican Army- Now in Poem Form!!

(the title is inspired by something on The Simpsons)

Below are four more poems. I explain my kind of poetry here. For the rest of the poems, click on the "lyrics" tag below, there's at least four pages of poems, so click on "older posts."

I think that's it.

“Flying Columns” based on “Pride of a Nation” by Skrewdriver. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is about the IRA’s 1950s Border Campaign. For more on that see this (this page has a lot of information that I would normally put in the notes).
2. I’ve read that another mistake they made was ignoring Belfast - that meant they were not much of a threat to the State (I’ve also read of two explanations for not carrying out operations there, but one doesn’t really make sense). And beyond what the article says, they also failed to mobilize popular support and mass struggle alongside the armed campaign.
3. The Provisionals were the republican movement known in recent decades simply as Sinn Fein and the IRA; they came into existence in late 1969/early1970.
4. **55% of this version is me, 45% is the original.
5. I give this poem four stars out of five.
6. I don’t know how close i am to being accurate about what Volunteers during this campaign were wearing.
7. Skrewdriver were British and supported the British and Unionist causes.
8. Definitely about the IRA.

They won support in the North before the battle began
The day is getting closer, and they’re perfecting their plan
As they march towards the battlefield, the enemy is near
The first fight is coming, and their committment is sincere

(chorus)
Pride of a nation, freedom's salvation
Pride of a nation, they fought for our liberation

A uniform of green, with the tri-color and black mask
Their honor was their dedication, to complete their Northern task
They fought against such massive odds, earning glory in the fields
And in ‘57 many in the South responded to the republican appeal

Chorus

When the offensive stalled, the campaign was going nowhere
They brought it to an end and admitted they were in error
The fire would be rekindled, the flames would fill the skies
Like a phoenix from the ashes, the Provisionals would arise

******

“Freedom Fighters” based on “We Fight for Freedom” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.

1. The Provisionals is an earlier term for what we now call simply Sinn Fein and the IRA.
2. The tri-color is the Irish flag.
3. Volunteers are members of republican paramilitaries. The 3 rd line refers to a volley of shots fired at a funeral for a Volunteer.
4. The Starry Plough is the flag of socialist republicanism.
5. **46% of this version is me, 54% is the original.
6. I give this poem three stars out of five.
7. This is not meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since 1997.
8. About the IRA.
9. In the first verse, the first half and the second half are about different things.
10. Skrewdriver were British and supported the British and Unionist causes.

Out of the ashes, the Provisionals arose
They charge at the enemy, their courage overflows
Our tri-colors are flying, our rifles aimed at the sky
As we say farewell to a Volunteer who has died

(chorus)
We're fighting for freedom, our destiny hangs by a thread
We're fighting for freedom, the flag of our nation at our head
We're fighting for freedom, the land of our ancestors must be united
We're fighting for freedom, British imperialism will be smited

Our enemies ranks are a mixture of imperialists, and unionists
We’re radical republicans, ready to resist, with the raised fist
We fight for our people, we fight for a future of light
For the dark surrounds us, so we must win this fight

Heed the sounds of battle, the screams of the wounded are loud
The warriors stand and they fly the Starry Plough
We know that victory will soon be ours, as we gaze at the sight
The flags of our nation are raised in victorious flight

*******

“Irish Republican Army” based on “European Skinhead Army” by No Remorse, original lyrics are here.

1. This is set in 1971 when barricades were put up around some Nationalist areas to keep the security forces out.
2. Probably about half of nationalists supported armed struggle at that point, probably about half of those people were supporting the Provisional IRA (probably a large minority sort of supported the IRA- After what happened in Aug '69 they probably liked having an armed IRA around if needed).
4. Many, probably a large majority, of Unionists workers are, (at least) in the mid- and long terms, sabotaging themselves with their sectarianism. It weakens the labor movement and the left and is more or less responsible for the fact that workers in the North are poorer than workers in Britain. They benefit from sectarian discrimination in pay and employment but don’t see the large picture where uniting Ireland and thus undermining sectarianism will likely transform Ireland into a democratic socialist state with equality between Catholics and Protestants. (for why that is likely, see the bottom half of this . You might also read this, which is about breaking down sectarian divisions)
5. In Aug. of 1969 there was one major pogrom and some minor ones, and an attempted major pogrom against the Catholic community. There’s more on that here and here.
6. The Starry Plough is the flag of republican socialism.
7. Gerald McCauley was a member of the IRA’s youth wing. Without being armed he was part of Nationalist resistance during the West Belfast Aug. 1969 anti-Catholic pogrom. He was killed and the area he was defending, Bombay St., was burned out.
8. Valhalla is part of Norse mythology, it's a place where warriors go after they die, although there seems to be some debate about exactly who gets in- only people who die in combat? Anyway, the fascists love it and have sort of taken over the concept, but a friend told me that he likes the idea of the left claiming it and specifically said that if such a place exists, Che and others like him are probably there. (Do I believe in Valhalla? You could say I’m sort of an agnostic on that question and am sort of solidly a Christian. The way I see it, this is pretty flexible, don't take it too seriously, and one way to think about it is that if you believe in Heaven and would rather these people went there instead of Valhalla, maybe they can do both, spend some time in Valhalla and some time in Heaven; but my friend and I do like the idea of reclaiming it from the fash)
9. RA is Republican Army, and is pronounced “raw.”
10. **77% of this version is me, 23% is the original.
11. I give this poem four stars out of five.
12. Definitely about the IRA.
UPDATE 3/18/15 13. I added "and mothers."
14.  UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.
15. No Remorse were British and supported the British and Unionist causes.
UPDATE 4/18/20 the old last two lines are "With our comrades in battle or in Valhalla/We fight for Ireland, because we are the RA." The new lines are below. I don't think this more than  slightly changes what % of it is me.
16. The Jewish Combat Organization, referred to by it's Polish acronym ZOB, carried out the rebellion in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII.
17. Hallah is a kind of Jewish bread.

Man the barricades, resistance has exploded
We're armed and ready, locked and loaded
We've got the people’s support, we've got the guns,
We never lose, we’ll fight til we’ve won

Chorus:
Irish Republican Army,
We stand together in a people’s war
Irish Republican Army,
We fight for freedom as our fathers and mothers did before

This is our land, we want it united
working-class unionists are so short-sighted
Another pogrom, we won’t allow
We raise our fists and fly the starry plough

For McAuley and for Bombay Street
We will fight until our victory’s complete
If we fall in battle and go to Valhalla
We'll meet the Jewish Combat Organization and try some Hallah


******

“Withdrawal” based on “Repatriation” by Final War, original lyrics are here.

1. This is set in the early 1970s. At some point, early in that period, I’m not sure exactly when, there were huge numbers of British troops coming into the North, and they started building more military installations, as the situation became less stable. The BA is the British Army.
2. As far as it being imperialist, I go into that quite a bit here, in the paragraph which is about 40% the way down from the top, and which starts with- “For a few reasons I'm.”
3. There had been 2-4 armed attempts at liberating the North since the formation of the state, attempts that went nowhere. Many senior members of the IRA in the 1970s we’re committed to a long war and fighting til victory. UPDATE 9/25/11 I have a theory (probably a very accurate one) of why they DID stop significantly short of victory- I explain that here.
4. The deployment of British troops on the streets of N. Ireland in August 1969 was seen in different ways. To a large degree their immediate effect was to save Catholic communites from being attacked beyond what they had already experienced (see this and this). But they also rescued the State from falling apart. And they made it difficult for the IRA to get support from Nationalists for an armed campaign against the British Army and government. In some cases the BA was accused of pointing their weapons at the Catholics, and some IRA members were arrested, after their communities had experienced what were pogroms (or attempted pogrom, in Derry).
5. Plantation is a word for a new colony (so it’s not a perfect fit with that line, but close enough).
6. I believe that one reason the British fought to retain N. Ireland is that the labor movement and the left were weaker there than in other areas of the UK, because of sectarianism.
7. I’m not sure if “peace-keeping” is the right way to describe the initial presence of the British troops, but I think it’s fairly accurate (I know that the rest of the conflict London would often talk about the BA as if they were peace-keepers, but this is different- the first 9 months they were fairly close to being peace-keepers).
**8. 72% of this version is me, 28% is the original (that includes the chnages I made in the fourth verse (As far as i can see, there is not a chorus).
9. I give this poem four stars out of five.
10. I believe that there should be a period of gradual change; so, the 2nd line of the 2nd verse shouldn’t be taken literally.
11. About the IRA.
12. 12. This version has one anti-racist line, which is in conflict with the politics behind the original. I talk about why that’s important here.

As instability and resistance spreads, the BA settles in
their transports fly into Belfast again and again
the British Army are on an imperialist crusade
we’re going to put an end to it, ‘cause we’re the IRA

We've been doing this for many decades
This time we won’t stop til their transports fly away
it's time to take action, time to make a stand
send ‘em back to their own island

British withdrawal must start today
British withdrawal it is the only way
British withdrawal that is our demand
British withdrawal take them right out of our land!

What do you think brought them here from their foreign nation?
The need to stabilize and secure their imperial plantation
the Tories want a pool of cheap labor for the capitalists
Like the KKK and racism, the Orange Order gives them an assist

A brief peace-keeping operation is all they thought it would be
But now we’ve started a popular insurgency
we've had enough British rule, can’t take it anymore
Let’s push them out and Ireland will be united once more