Come all of you fine people, wherever you may be,
I'll sing of a brave Belfast man,
Who scorned the army's might though they'd shoot him on sight,
They shot down Joe McCann, Joe McCann,
They shot down Joe McCann.

Was in a Belfast bakery in the August of that year,
When internment was imposed throughout the land,
Six volunteers from Belfast held six hundred soldiers at bay,
Their leader was Joe McCann, Joe McCann,
Their leader was Joe McCann.

He fought for the people of the Market where he worked,
In defence of the rights of man,
But the higher branch crew told the soldiers what to do,
They shot down Joe McCann, Joe McCann,
They shot down Joe McCann.

He hadn't gun, so he started to run,
To escape them as many a time before,
One bullet took him down, as he lay on the ground,
They shot him ten times more, ten times more,
They shot him ten times more.

He fought for the rights of the people of this land,
The Catholic and Protestant working man,
He caused the bosses fear, for this they paid him dear,
When they murdered Joe McCann, Joe McCann,
They murdered Joe McCann.

When they murdered Joe McCann, Joe McCann,
They murdered Joe McCann.