The Wearing of the Green — Traditional Irish Ballad by Dion Boucicault (19th Century)

The Wearing of the Green is a traditional Irish ballad. Lyrics commonly attributed to Dion Boucicault (1822–1890), Irish dramatist and writer. Dion Boucicault was the author of more than fifty original dramatic works, including The Colleen Bawn. He spent much of his later life in New York while maintaining strong cultural ties to Ireland and England. LYRICS THE WEARING OF THE GREEN O Paddy dear, and did you hear the news that’s going round? The shamrock is forbid by law to grow on Irish ground; St Patrick’s Day no more we’ll keep, his colours can’t be seen, For there’s a bloody law against the wearing of the green. I met with Napper Tandy, and he took me by the hand, And he said, “How’s poor old Ireland, and how does she stand?” She’s the most distressful country that ever yet was seen, They are hanging men and women for the wearing of the green. O if the colour we must wear is England’s cruel red, Sure Ireland’s sons will ne’er forget the blood that they have shed. You may take the shamrock from your hat and cast it on the sod, But ’twill take root and flourish there, though under foot ’tis trod. When law can stop the blades of grass from growing as they grow, And when the leaves in summer-time their verdure dare not show, Then I will change the colour that I wear in my caubeen, But till that day, please God, I’ll stick to wearing of the green. But if at last our colour should be torn from Ireland’s heart, Her sons with shame and sorrow from the dear old isle will part; I’ve heard a whisper of a country that lies beyond the sea, Where rich and poor stand equal in the light of freedom’s day. O Erin, must we leave you, driven by a tyrant’s hand? Must we ask a mother’s blessing from a strange and distant land? Where the cruel cross of England shall nevermore be seen, And where, please God, we’ll live and die still wearing of the green. — Dion Boucicault The original text dates to the 19th century and is in the public domain. This recording is a new musical arrangement and performance. © 2026 Irish Longing. Arrangement, performance, and recording. All rights reserved.