[Verse 1]
Early on a Sunday morning
High upon a gallows tree
Kevin Barry gave his young life
For the cause of liberty
Only a lad of eighteen summers
Yet there's no one can deny
That he went to death that morning
Proudly held his head up high

[Chorus]
Shoot me like an Irish solider
Do not hang me like a dog
For I fought for Ireland’s freedom
On that dark September morn
All around that little bakery
Where we fought from hand-to-hand
Shoot me like an Irish solider
For I fought to free our land

[Verse 2]
Just before he faced the hangman
In his lonely prison cell
British soldiers tortured Barry
Just because he would not tell
All the names of his companions
Other things they wished to know
"Turn informer and we'll free you"
Proudly Barry answered, "No"
[Chorus]
Shoot me like an Irish solider
Do not hang me like a dog
For I fought for Ireland's freedom
On that dark September morn
All around that little bakery
Where we fought from hand-to-hand
Shoot me like an Irish solider
For I fought to free our land

[Verse 3]
Another martyr for old Ireland
Another murder for the crown
Well, they can kill the Irish
But they can’t keep their spirits down

[Chorus]
Shoot me like an Irish solider
Do not hang me like a dog
For I fought for Ireland's freedom
On that dark September morn
All around that little bakery
Where we fought from hand-to-hand
Shoot me like an Irish solider
For I fought to free our land