"We searched for birds in every furze..."

As you might have known, yesterday was St. Stephen's Day and was traditionally the day for hunting of the wren in Ireland.

In honor of that tradition, which in modern times has been altered to be kinder to the gentle birds, I thought I'd post the words to this song by Sigerson Clifford. The song remembers the Boys of Barr Na Sráide and the days of their youth spent hunting the wren. It gives a lament over a part of Irish history and describes the songwriter's longing for "the place where life began": "that old town between the hills and sea".

Boys of Barr Na Sráide

by Sigerson Clifford

*Dreólín is the Irish Gaelic word for wren.

*A furze is a type of bush, similar to a gorse bush.

Oh, the town, it climbs the mountains and looks upon the sea
At sleeping time or waking time, it's there I'd like to be.
To walk again those kindly streets, the place where life began,
With the Boys of Barr na Sráide who hunted for the wren.

With cudgels stout they roamed about to hunt for the dreólín*
We searched for birds in every furze* from Litir to Dooneen.
We danced for joy beneath the sky, life held no print nor plan
When the Boys of Barr na Sráide went hunting for the wren.

And when the hills were bleedin' and the rifles were aflame
To the rebel homes of Kerry the Saxon strangers came,
But the men who dared the Auxies and fought the Black-and-Tan
Were the Boys of Barr na Sráide who hunted for the wren.

But now they toil in foreign soil where they have made their way
Deep in the heart of London or over on Broadway,
And I am left to sing their deeds and praise them while I can
Those Boys of Barr na Sráide who hunted for the wren.

And here's a health to them tonight wherever they may be.
By the groves of Carham river or the slope of Bean 'a Tí
John Daly and Batt Andy and the Sheehans, Con and Dan,
And the Boys of Barr na Sráide who hunted for the wren.

When the wheel of life runs out and peace come over me
Just take me back to that old town between the hills and sea.
I'll take my rest in those green fields, the place where life began,
With those Boys of Barr na Sráide who hunted for the wren.

The above image of the wren boys of 1904 is from the book The Birds of the Isle of Man by P.G.Ralfe published in 1905.