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Foggy Dew, The

Submitted by Comyn on Fri, 01/26/2007 - 11:36am.

'Twas [Am] down the glen one [G] Easter morn
To a [Am] city [Am#5add5] fair rode [Am] I.
When [Am] Ireland's line of [G] marching men
In [Am] squadrons [Am#5add5] passed me [Am] by.

No [C] pipe did hum, no [G] battle drum
Did [C] sound its dread [Am] tattoo
But the [Am] Angelus bell o'er the [G] Liffey's swell
Rang [Am] out in the [Am#5add5] foggy [Am] dew.

Right proudly high over Dublin town
They hung out a flag of war.
'Twas better to die 'neath an Irish sky
Than at Suvla or Sud el Bar.

And from the plains of Royal Meath
Strong men came hurrying through;
While Brittania's sons with their long-range guns
Sailed in from the foggy dew.

'Twas England bade our wild geese go
That small nations might be free.
Their lonely graves are by Suvla's waves
On the fringe of the grey North Sea.

But had they died by Pearse's side
Or fought with Gathal Bruga,
Their graves we'd keep where the Fenians sleep
'Neath the hills of the foggy dew.

The bravest fell, and the solemn bell
Rang mournfully and clear
For those who died that Eastertide
In the springing of the year.

And the world did gaze in deep amaze
At those fearless men and true
Who bore the fight that freedom's light
Might shine through the foggy dew.


Am#5add5 {x03210}

This song was written by Father P O'Neill paying tribute to the men and women who fought and died in the Easter rising of 1916 in Dublin.

from rec.music.celtic, 1999 by Jay Karamales:
Actually, both references--Suvla and Sedd el Bahr--refer to the British landings against the Turks at Gallipoli in World War I and the subsequent bloody stalemate, in which Empire troops lost about 252,000 men. The initial landings were made on 25 April 1915 the southern tip of Cape Helles by 75,000 British, Australians, New Zealanders, and French. When they got bogged down on the beach and failed to make headway, another landing was made 15 miles to the north at Suvla Bay on 6 August 1915. That attack bogged down too and the two sides were locked in bloody combat until the British cabinet finally ordered a withdrawal in January 1916.

I believe the singer of "Foggy Dew" is lamenting the fact that the Irishmen who died in British service at Gallipoli would have been of better service to Ireland in the Easter Rising of 1916.

A description of the battle of Suvla Bay, referred to in the song.

The Pearse mentioned is 'Padraic Pearse' (1879-1916), the poet leader of the 1916 Easter Rising, who called upon the people of Ireland to reclaim their "ancient glory" through heroic act of rebellion.

X: 404
T: Foggy Dew, The
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: Emin
B d | e2 d B | e2 d B | A2 B2 | D2 E F |
G B A G | E2 D2 | E4-|E2 B d | e2 d B | e2 d B |
A2 B2 | D2 E F | G B A G | E2 D2 | E4-|E2 F2 |
G2 B2 | d2 c B | A2 A2 | B2 G A | B2 g f|
e d B d | e4-| e2 B d|e2 d B | e2 d B |
A2 B2 | D2 E F | G B A G | E2 D2 | E4||
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