Are the Tans at It Again

Irish insubordinate song

Come Out, Ye Black and Tans is an Irish rebel song referring to the Black and Tans, or "special reserve constables" (mainly erstwhile World War I regular army soldiers), recruited in Bully Great britain and sent to Ireland from 1920, to reinforce the Royal Irish Law (RIC) during the Irish State of war of Independence.^[1] ^[two] The song was written by Dominic Behan as a tribute to his Irish Republican Army (IRA) father Stephen,^[three] who had fought in the War of Independence, and is concerned with political divisions in working-class Dublin of the 1920s.^[i] The song uses the term "Blackness and Tans" in the pejorative sense against people living in Dublin, both Catholic and Protestant, who were pro-British.^[2] ^[ane] The most notable recording was in 1972 past the Irish traditional music grouping, The Wolfe Tones, which re-charted in 2020.^[1]

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The song is attributed to Irish gaelic songwriter Dominic Behan, who was born into the literary Behan family in Dublin in 1928 (his blood brother was Brendan Behan).^[1] ^[2] The date when the song was written is not recorded, merely Behan was agile as a songwriter from 1958 onwards. The setting of the song is the Dublin into which Behan was built-in in the tardily 1920s, and the main character in the song (who is calling his neighbours "Black and Tans"), is believed to be Behan's male parent, Stephen Behan,^[3] who was a prominent Irish republican, and who had fought in the Irish gaelic State of war of Independence and the Irish Civil State of war.^[1] ^[2] At times, the song's authorship has been mistakenly attributed to Stephen Behan.^[1]

Tune [edit]

The melody of the song was adapted by Behan from an old air, Rosc Catha na Mumhan (Irish for "Battlecry of Munster"), by Piaras Mac Gearailt [ga] (Pierce FitzGerald, c. 1709 – c. 1792), which is also used by the loyalist song The Boyne Water.^[1] A variant of the tune migrated to Scotland and to the Appalachian Mountains, where information technology became the virtually common melody for the traditional folk carol Barbara Allen.^[4]

Lyrics [edit]

While the song title and lyrics refer to the Black and Tans from the State of war of Independence, the song itself is a dispute between republican and unionist neighbours in inner-metropolis Dublin in the Irish Complimentary State era of the mid-1920s.^[1] During this era, Dublin connected to elect unionist pro-British politicians and voluntary service in the British Army was a popular career choice amongst working-course Dubliners, for both Catholics and Protestants.^[ane] ^[2] Supporting this tradition was the existence of a relatively large, and now generally forgotten and disappeared, Dublin Protestant working class. It is this pro-British working grade, of both religions, that the composer is confronting in the song (a noted representation of this cultural group is Bessie Burgess in the Seán O'Casey play The Turn and the Stars).^[1]

In the chorus, the composer is pejoratively labelling his Dublin neighbours, who are pro-British and First World War veterans ("show your wife how you lot won medals down in Flanders"). He calls them "Black and Tans", and asks them to come up out and "fight me similar a man", stating that the "IRA" (Irish gaelic Republican Army), had made the Black and Tans "run like hell away" from rural Republic of ireland such equally the "green and lovely lanes of Killeshandra" (which is in County Cavan, and where, in 1922, ex-RIC and Black and Tan soldiers were forced to flee the town after being given a few days warning to leave past the local IRA^[5]).^[2]

The lyrics make references to the history of Irish nationalism, and "links the Irish gaelic experience with other peoples' struggles confronting the British Empire, from the Zulus to the Middle East." One line of the song states to the Dublin neighbours: "Come up tell us how you slew them poor Arabs two by two / Like the Zulus, they had spears and bows and arrows".^[2] ^[ane] The lyrics reference the disdain by his neighbours (saying "sneers and jeers that you loudly permit the states hear"), to the execution of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, and to the fall of the Irish nationalist politico, Charles Stuart Parnell.^[1]

At that place are variations of the original lyrics that contain references to more modern events in Irish nationalism, such as The Troubles.


"Come out ye' blackness and tans"
I was born in a Dublin street, where the loyal drums did beat, the loving English feet, they walked all over u.s.a., and every unmarried dark, when me da' would come dwelling tight, he'd invite the neighbours out with this chorus:
Come out ye' black and tans! Come out and fight me like a man! Show your wife how you won medals downward in Flanders! Tell her how the IRA, made you lot run like hell away, from the light-green and lovely lanes of Killeshandra!

Recordings [edit]

Wolfe Tones [edit]

The nigh notable recording of the song was by the Irish traditional group, The Wolfe Tones, who recorded the song on their 1972 album, Allow the People Sing, and which credited the writing of the vocal to Joe Giltrap and Wes McGhee (who were traditional musicians merely not band members), and an "unknown PD writer".^[1] The Wolfe Tones version of the vocal recharted in 2019–2020 (see below),^[6] and the group posted on their Twitter account that the proceeds from the re-charting would be donated to an Irish homeless clemency run by Peter McVerry.^[7]

Others [edit]

The song has been recorded by other artists including:

In 1974, by the Irish folk group The Longkesh Ramblers.
In 2000, by the Canadian folk group The Irish Descendants.
In 2004, by Irish folk singer Paddy Reilly.
In 2005, by Californian experimental music group LeperKhanz, who recorded a version of the song on their album Tiocfaidh Ár Lá (Our day will come).
In 2022, by Irish vocalizer/composer Colm R. McGuinness.

21st-century use [edit]

Celtic football game guild [edit]

In an article about the violence and bigotry surrounding Old Firm football matches, the Irish Contained said: "And so there'due south the stereotypical image of the Celtic supporters wearing T-shirts of 'undefeated army' and having their phones ringing to the sound of 'Come out ye black and tans'".^[8]

Ad campaigns [edit]

In March 2019, Irish food company, Brady Family Ham, released an advertising video that went viral, which used the melody of the vocal only with amended lyrics, and replacing the give-and-take "Tan" with "Ham", that was directed by Begetter Ted director, Declan Lowney.^[9] ^[1] ^[10]

This Time with Alan Partridge (2019) [edit]

In March 2019, episode four of Steve Coogan'due south This Time with Alan Partridge, ended with a rendition of Come up Out, Ye Black and Tans by Coogan, interim in-character equally the fictional Irish gaelic performer Martin Brennan (played equally an eccentric rural Irish gaelic farmer).^[2] The Guardian reported that: "Irish gaelic Twitter went wild and the Wolfe Tones' rendition of the song started to penetrate foreign consciousness on easily the biggest scale since Behan apparently put pen to paper".^[two] RTE News chosen it "the TV moment of the year".^[11]

RIC commemoration (2020) [edit]

In Jan 2020, The Wolfe Tones' version of "Come up Out Ye Black and Tans" reached number i on the Ireland and UK iTunes charts, as function of "widespread criticism" of the (Irish) Government's planned commemoration of the RIC, as role of its "Decade of Commemoration" (commemorating the events of 1912–1922 in Ireland).^[12] ^[13] As a result of this, on ten January, the vocal entered the Irish Singles Chart at No. 33,^[14] and likewise debuted at No. i in the Scottish Singles Chart, which only counts paid-for sales and does not include streaming.^[15] ^[2]

2020 Irish gaelic full general election [edit]

The song was used on occasions past Irish political party Sinn Féin, during the 2020 Irish gaelic general election,^[16] ^[17] and was listed in the "ten defining moments" of the election by the Irish Independent.^[thirteen]

Charts [edit]

The Wolfe Tones version

References [edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^thou ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^grand ⁿ ^o Deirdre Falvey (20 March 2019). "Come Out Ye Blackness and Tans: Think y'all know what it'southward about? You probably don't". Irish Times . Retrieved 8 February 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^grand ^h ⁱ ^j Brian Coney (14 January 2020). "How Alan Partridge helped Come Out Ye Black and Tans pinnacle the charts". The Guardian . Retrieved viii February 2020.
^ ^a ^b Frank McNally (thirteen Feb 2020). "Come Out Ye Drunken Dads – Frank McNally on the curious reinvention of a spoof rebel song". Irish gaelic Times . Retrieved 13 February 2020.
^ Bronson, Bertrand Harris (1977), "84. Bonny Barbara Allan", The Singing Tradition of Kid's Popular Ballads. (Abridgement), Princeton University Press, pp. 221–228, ISBN978-1-4008-7267-1 , retrieved 23 June 2021
^ Brian Hughes (Oct 2019). Defying the IRA?: Intimidation, compulsion, and communities during the Irish Revolution (Reappraisals in Irish gaelic History). Liverpool University Printing. p. 198. ISBN978-1789620764.
^ Nick Reilly (nine January 2020). "The Wolfe Tones' rebel song 'Come Out Ye Black and Tans' tops UK and Ireland iTunes charts". NME . Retrieved 8 February 2020.
^ Rachel O'Connor (ten Jan 2020). "The Wolfe Tones are donating all proceeds from 'Come up Out Ye Blackness and Tans' sales to homeless charity". The Irish Post . Retrieved 8 February 2020.
^ Aidan O'Hara (xiv March 2011). "'If people want to hitting their wives, not watching Scott Brown or El-Hadji Diouf won't make much difference'". Irish Contained . Retrieved 10 February 2020.
^ Deirdre Falvey (xiii March 2019). "Brady Family Ham's Black and Tans: the perfect advertisement for the Brexit era". Irish Times . Retrieved 10 February 2020.
^ Sarah Peppard (13 March 2019). "Watch Kildare's Brady Family's hilarious video to the tune of "Come up out, ye Black and Tans"". Leinster Leader . Retrieved 10 February 2020.
^ "Watch: Alan Partridge merely gave u.s. the Tv set moment of the twelvemonth". RTE News. 19 March 2019. Retrieved eight Feb 2020.
^ "Come Out Ye Black And Tans is number 1 in Irish and UK iTunes charts". The Irish gaelic Times. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 Jan 2020.
^ ^a ^b Cormac McQuinn (8 February 2020). "Full general Election 2020: The 10 defining moments". Irish Independent . Retrieved 10 Feb 2020.
^ "Justin Bieber scores the highest new entry on the Official Irish Singles Chart with Yummy". Official Charts Company. 10 January 2020. Retrieved ten Jan 2020.
^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 10 January 2020. Retrieved four February 2020.
^ Brian Hutton (8 February 2020). "Sinn Féin's Dessie Ellis dismisses criticism of joining rebel sing-song". Irish Times . Retrieved 8 February 2020.
^ Hugh O'Connell (9 February 2020). "Sinn Féin members sing 'Come Out Ye Blackness And Tans' equally count celebrations begin in the RDS". Irish Independent . Retrieved 9 February 2020.
^ "ARIA Australian Acme twoscore Digital Tracks" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 20 January 2020. Retrieved xviii January 2020.
^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Pinnacle l". Official Charts Visitor. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 January 2020.

External links [edit]

Come Out, Ye Black and Tans, The Wolfe Tones 1972 version
Come Out, Ye Blackness and Tans, Lyrics.com

langleyevia1988.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Out,_Ye_Black_and_Tans