Broad
Black Brimmer With Extra Verses. 4/4 Capo on 2nd fret. Extra verses supplied by Marc Fahrbach. key of C Major.
Thereīs an uniform thatīs hanging in whatīs known
as fatherīs room
An uniform so simple in his style
It has no braid of gold or silk no hat with feathered
plume
Yet the mother has preserved it all the while
One day she made me try it on, a wish of mine for
years
"In memory of your father, son" she said
And when I put the Sam Browne on she was smiling
with the tears
As she placed the broad black brimmer on my
head
Chorus
Itīs just a broad black brimmer with ribbons
frayed and torn
By the careless whisk of many a mountain breeze
An old trench coat thatīs battle stained and
worn
And breeches almost threadbare at the knees
A Sam Brown belt with buckle big and strong
And a holster thatīs been empty manyīs a day
When men claim Irelandīs freedom the one they'll
choose to lead’em
Will wear the broad black brimmer of the IRA
It was the uniform been worn by me father long ago
When he reached me mothers homestead on the run
It was the uniform me father wore in that little church below
When oul Father Mac he blessed the pair as one
And after truce and treaty and the parting of the ways
He wore it when he marched out with the rest
And when they bore his body down that rugged heather braes
They placed the broad black brimmer on his breast
Now that was many a day before and manys a fight between
And since that day I've grown from boy to man
And those who want our freedom are still fighting Erin's war
For the trouble is not over in the land
So like my father before me, and his oul' father too
I marched out with lads to join the fray
Pledged to Ireland's freedom and a bold Republic too
In the uniform of the IRA
