Marchin' down O'Connell Street with the Starry Plough on high
There goes the Citizen Army with their fists raised in the sky
Leading them is a mighty man with a mad rage in his eye
My name is James Connolly I didn't come here to die
But to fight for the rights of the working man
And the small farmer too
Protect the proletariat from the bosses and their screws
So hold on to your rifles
Boys
And don't give up your dream
Of a Republic for the workin' class
Economic liberty
Then Jem yelled out Oh Citizens
This system is a curse
An English boss is a monster
An Irish one even worse
They'll never lock us out again and here's the reason why
My name is James Connolly
I didn't come here to die
And now we're in the GPO with the bullets whizzin' by
With Pearse and Sean McDermott biddin' each other goodbye
Up steps our citizen leader and roars out to the sky
My name is James Connolly
I didn't come here to die
Oh Lily
I don't want to die
We've got so much to live for
And I know we're all goin' out to get slaughtered
But I just can't take any more
Just the sight of one more child screamin' from hunger in a Dublin slum
Or his mother slavin' 14 hours a day for the scum
Who exploit her and take her youth and throw it on a factory floor
Oh Lily
I just can't take any more
They've locked us out
They've banned our unions
They even treat their animals better than us
No
It's far better to die like a man on your feet
Than to live forever like some slave on your knees
Lilly
But don't let them wrap any green flag around me
And for God's sake
Don't let them bury me in some field full of harps and shamrocks
And whatever you do
Don't let them make a martyr out of me
No
Rather raise the Starry Plough on high
Sing a song of freedom
Here's to you
Lily
The rights of man and international revolution
We fought them to a standstill while the flames lit up the sky
'Til a bullet pierced our leader and we gave up the fight
They shot him in Kilmainham jail but they'll never stop his cry
My name is James Connolly
I didn't come here to die
