{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 "Croppies Lie Down" is an Irish

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

, dating from the

1798 rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...

in Ireland, that celebrates the defeat of the Irish rebels. The author has been reported as

George Watson-Taylor George Watson-Taylor (1771 – 6 Jun 1841), of Saul's River, Jamaica, was the fourth son of George Watson. From 1810 he was the husband of Anna Susana Taylor, the daughter of Jamaican planter Sir John Taylor, 1st Baronet, and heiress of her brothe ...

.WATSON TAYLOR, George (1771-1841), of Cavendish Square, Mdx. and Erlestoke Park, nr. Devizes, Wilts. Published in Fisher, D.R., ed., ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820-1832'', Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 2009. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/watson-taylor-george-1771-1841 This song illustrates the deep divisions which existed in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at the time of the 1798 rebellion.

Irish Catholics Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

, and to a lesser extent

Dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

, were legally excluded from political and economic life. The

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

was at war with

revolutionary France The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

at the time, and

Irish republicans Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The developm ...

were encouraged by rumours that France would invade the island. The lyrics describe the rebels as treacherous cowards and those fighting them as brave defenders of the innocent. " Croppies" meant people with closely cropped hair, a fashion associated with the French revolutionaries, in contrast to the

wig A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...

s favoured by the

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

. In

George Borrow George Henry Borrow (5 July 1803 – 26 July 1881) was an English writer of novels and of travel based on personal experiences in Europe. His travels gave him a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure strongly in his work. Hi ...

's 1862 travel book ''

Wild Wales ''Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery'' is a travel book by the English Victorian gentleman writer George Borrow (1803–1881), first published in 1862. The book recounts Borrow's personal experiences and insights while touring Wales ...

'', the author comes upon an itinerant Irish fiddler and asks him to play the tune.

Lyrics

"We soldiers of Erin, so proud of the name,
We'll raise on the rebels and Frenchmen our fame;
We'll fight to the last in the honest old cause,
And guard our religion, our freedom and laws;
We'll fight for our country, our King and his crown,
And make all the traitors and croppies lie down.
Down, down, croppies lie down. The rebels so bold, when they've none to oppose,
To houses and haystacks are terrible foes;
They murder poor parsons and likewise their wives,
At the sight of a soldier they run for their lives;
Whenever we march over country and town
In ditches and cellars the croppies lie down.
Down, down, croppies lie down. In Dublin the traitors were ready to rise
And murder was seen in their lowering eyes
With poison, the cowards, they aimed to succeed
And thousands were doomed by the assassins to bleed
But the yeoman advanced, of rebels the dread
And each croppy soon hid his dastardly head
Down, down, croppies lie down. Should France e'er attempt, by fraud or by guile,
Her forces to land on Erin's green isle,
We'll show that they n'er can make free soldiers, slaves,
They shall only possess our green fields for their graves;
Our country's applauses our triumphs will crown,
Whilst with their French brothers the croppies lie down.
Down, down, croppies lie down. Oh, croppies ye'd better be quiet and still
Ye shan't have your liberty, do what ye will
As long as salt water is formed in the deep
A foot on the necks of the croppy we'll keep
And drink, as in bumpers past troubles we drown,
A health to the lads that made croppies lie down
Down, down, croppies lie down."

Footnotes

External links

Full lyrics to ''Croppies Lie Down''
Orange Order Ballads of the Irish Rebellion of 1798

Lyrics

See also

Footnotes

External links