"The Helicopter Song" is a Number 1 single by the Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 traditional

Traditional music

Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 the Wolfe Tones

Wolfe Tones

The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band who incorporate elements of Irish traditional music in their songs. They are named after the Irish rebel and patriot Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double entendre that a wolf tone is a spurious sound...

.

Background

The song tells the story of the 1973 escape

1973 Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape

The Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape occurred on 31 October 1973 when three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers escaped from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, Ireland, aboard a hijacked Alouette II helicopter, which briefly landed in the prison's exercise yard...

 of three Provisional Irish Republican Army

Provisional Irish Republican Army

The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

 (IRA) prisoners from Dublin's Mountjoy Prison

Mountjoy Prison

Mountjoy Prison , founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.The current prison governor is Mr...

. On October 31 an IRA member hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to Mountjoy where the three prisoners, JB O'Hagan, Seamus Twomey

Seamus Twomey

Seamus Twomey was an Irish republican and twice chief of staff of the Provisional IRA.-Biography:Born in Belfast, Twomey lived at 6 Sevastopol Street in the Falls district...

 and Kevin Mallon, were lifted by helicopter from the exercise yard of Mountjoy Jail's D Wing at 3.40pm. The incident was a major embarrassment for the government.
Lyrics and Style=

As with other Wolfe Tone's songs, the lyrics use a certain comical tone to show sympathy with the Republican cause and narrate events linked to the Troubles in Ireland, rather than an overly aggressive or ultra sectarian language, an attribute which contributed to its popularity.

Example:

Over in the Dail they were drinking gin and brandy

The Minister for Justice was soaking up the sun

when came this little message that some prisoners have escaping

"I think its three of the Provos" says the warder in the Joy"

Chart success

The song was number one for four weeks despite being immediately banned by the RoI government, the song peaked in the Irish charts on November 22, 1973 and held that position for four weeks until it was replaced by Slade

Slade

Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...

's "Merry Christmas Everybody".