Lonely Woods of Upton
Lyrics
Many homes are filled with sorrow and with sadness
Many hearts are filled with anguish and with pain
For old Ireland now she hangs her head in mourning
For the men who died at Upton for Sinn Fein
CHORUS
Let the moon shine out along the valley
Where those men who fought for freedom now are lain
May they rest in peace those men who died for Ireland
In the lonely woods of Upton for Sinn Fein
Some were thinking of their mothers, wives and sweethearts
Some were thinking of their dear old Irish home
Did they think of how they drilled along the valley
When they marched out from Cork city to their doom
Chorus
The warning cry rang out “Fix your bayonets”
And those gallant men they fixed them for the fray
Gallantly they fought and died for dear old Ireland
In the lonely woods of Upton far away
Chorus
Notes
During the War of Independence, the local branch of the Irish Republican Army was active in West Cork. On 25 April 1920, two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary were ambushed and killed near Upton, and the Upton Train Ambush took place on 15 February 1921. Upton is village near Bandon.