"Croppies Lie Down" is an anonymous

Anonymous work

Anonymous works are works, such as art or literature, that have an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author. In the United States it is legally defined as "a work on the copies or phonorecords of which no natural person is identified as author."...

 Protestant

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 loyalist anti-rebel folksong dating from the 1798 rebellion

Irish Rebellion of 1798

The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...

 in Ireland celebrating the defeat and suppression of the rebels.

This song illustrates the deep divisions which existed in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 at the time of the 1798 rebellion

Irish Rebellion of 1798

The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...

. The United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 was at war with revolutionary

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 at the time, and Irish nationalists were encouraged by rumours that France would invade the island. The highly partisan lyrics describe the rebels as treacherous cowards and those fighting them as brave defenders of the innocent. "Croppies

Croppy

Croppy was a nickname given to Irish rebels during the period of the 1798 rebellion.- Origin :The name "croppy" derives from Ireland in the 1790s as a reference to people with closely cropped hair, a fashion which was associated with the anti-wig French revolutionaries of the period...

" meant people with closely cropped hair, a fashion

Fashion

Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...

 associated with the French revolutionaries, in contrast to the wigs favoured by the aristocracy

Aristocracy

Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...

.
In George Borrow

George Borrow

George Henry Borrow was an English author who wrote novels and travelogues based on his own experiences around Europe. Over the course of his wanderings, he developed a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe. They figure prominently in his work...

's 1862 travel book Wild Wales

Wild Wales

Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery is a travel book by the English Victorian gentleman writer George Borrow, , first published in 1862....

, the author comes upon an Irishman singing the tune.

The lyrics to the song begin:

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.

There follow several verses which depict the singers' view of the rebels as cowardly and treacherous:

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

The fear of a French invasion is referred to:

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

The final verse concludes menacingly:

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.

External links

• Full lyrics to Croppies Lie Down