Key: C
Introduction: F G Am F G C F G Am
C G C
Ten years before I saw the light of morning,
C F
a comradeship of heroes was laid,
F G
from every corner of the world came sailing
G G7 C
the Fifth International Brigade.
G C
They came to stand beside the Spanish people,
C F
to try and stem the rising fascist tide,
F G
Franco's allies were the powerful and wealthy,
G G7 C
Frank Ryan's men came from the other side.
G C
Even the olives were bleeding,
C F
as the battle for Madrid it thundered on,
F G
truth and love against the force of evil,
G G7 C
brotherhood against the fascist clan.
F
Viva la Quinta Brigada,
F G C
"No Pasaran", the pledge that made them fight.
C Em Am
"Adelante" is the cry around the hillside,
F G C
let us all remember them tonight.
C G C
Bob Hilliard was a Church of Ireland pastor,
C F
form Killarney across the Pyrenees he came,
F G
from Derry came a brave young Christian Brother,
G G7 C
side by side they fought and died in Spain.
G C
Tommy Woods aged seventeen died in Cordoba,
C F
with Na Fianna he learned to hold his gun,
F G
from Dublin to the Villa del Rio,
G G7 C
where he fought and died beneath the blazing sun.
F
Viva la Quinta Brigada,
F G C
"No Pasaran", the pledge that made them fight.
C Em Am
"Adelante" is the cry around the hillside,
F G C
let us all remember them tonight.
C G C
Many Irishmen heard the call of Franco,
C F
joined Hitler and Mussolini, too.
F G
Propaganda from the pulpit and newspapers,
G G7 C
helped O'Duffy to enlist his crew.
G C
The word came from Maynooth, "Dupport the Nazis!"
C F
The men of cloth failed again.
F G
When the Bishops blessed the Blueshirts in Dun Laoghaire,
G G7 C
as they sailed beneath the swastika to Spain.
F
Viva la Quinta Brigada,
F G C
"No Pasaran", the pledge that made them fight.
C Em Am
"Adelante" is the cry around the hillside,
F G C
let us all remember them tonight.
C G C
This song is a tribute to Frank Ryan,
C F
Kit Conway and Dinny Coady, too,
F G
Peter Daly, Charlie Regan and Hugh Bonar,
G G7 C
though many died, I can but name a few.
G C
Danny Boyle, Blaser-Brown and Charlie Donnelly,
C F
Liam Tumilson and Jim Straney from the Falls,
F G
Jack Nalty, Tommy Patton and Frank Conroy,
G G7 C
Jim Foley, Tony Fox and Dick O'Neill.
F
Viva la Quinta Brigada,
F G C
"No Pasaran", the pledge that made them fight.
C Em Am
"Adelante" is the cry around the hillside,
F G Am
let us all remember them tonight.
F G C F G Am
Viva la Quinta Brigada, viva la Quinta Brigada.