Broad Black Brimmer Songtext
von Declan Hunt

There′s a uniform that's hanging in what′s known as father's room
A uniform so simple in its style
It has no braid of gold and silk, no hat with feathered plume
Yet me mother has preserved it all the while
One day she made me try it on, a wish of mine for years
"Just in memory of your father, Sean," she said
And as I put the Sam Browne on she was smiling through her tears
And she placed the black wide brimmer on me head

It's just a broad black brimmer, its ribbons frayed and torn
By the careless whisk of many′s a mountain breeze
An old trench coat that′s all battle-stained and worn
And the britches almost threadbare at the knees
A Sam Browne belt with a buckle big and strong
And a holster that's been empty many′s the day
But when men claim Ireland's freedom
The one she′ll choose to lead 'em
Will wear the broad black brimmer of the I.R.A.


′Twas the uniform me worn by me father long ago
When he reached me mother's homestead on the run
'Twas the uniform me father wore in that little church below
When old Father Mikey blessed the pair as one
And after truce and treaty, at the parting of the ways
He wore it when he marched out with the rest
And when they bore his body down the rugged heather braes
They placed the broad black brimmer on his breast

It′s just a broad black brimmer, its ribbons frayed and torn
By the careless whisk of many′s a mountain breeze
An old trench coat that's all battle-stained and worn
And the britches almost threadbare at the knees
A Sam Browne belt with a buckle big and strong
And a holster that′s been empty many's the day
But when men claim Ireland′s freedom
The one she'll choose to lead ′em
Will wear the broad black brimmer of the I.R.A.

It's just a broad black brimmer, its ribbons frayed and torn
By the careless whisk of many's a mountain breeze
An old trench coat that′s all battle-stained and worn
And the britches almost threadbare at the knees
A Sam Browne belt with a buckle big and strong
And a holster that′s been empty many's the day
But when men claim Ireland′s freedom
The one she'll choose to lead ′em
Will wear the broad black brimmer of the I.R.A.