[Verse 1] [M] On a green bare shore They came with stone and fire Built rings in the rain And songs to lift the wire [F] By monastery lamps Ink ran like black tea Names on worn vellum Kept the old ways free [Pre-Chorus] [M] Then came the long sails White on the gray sea [F] Armor and iron Knocked at every gate [Chorus] Both: Ireland, hold on Hold on, hold on Ireland, hold on Through rain and flame Both: Ireland, sing on Sing on, sing on Ireland, sing on Name by name [Verse 2] [M] The crown pressed hard On fields and hungry hands Potato rows went black Like ash across the land [F] Mothers kept the keys Beneath a folded shawl Boys went off to prison And some never came home at all [Pre-Chorus] [M] But the fiddle kept A pulse in every room [F] And the tongue came back Like spring after the gloom [Chorus] Both: Ireland, hold on Hold on, hold on Ireland, hold on Through rain and flame Both: Ireland, sing on Sing on, sing on Ireland, sing on Name by name [Bridge] [M] In Dublin lanes they rose With empty hands and pride [F] At the G.P.O. The old world split inside [M] Some paid in blood [F] Some paid in years Both: But every small voice Still broke through the tears [Final Chorus] Both: Ireland, hold on Hold on, hold on Ireland, hold on Through rain and flame Both: Ireland, sing on Sing on, sing on Ireland, sing on Name by name Both: Ireland, hold on Hold on, hold on Ireland, hold on We are the same
