[Verse]
He grew up on farm in a trouble Irish's land,
Under foreign rule and the British Crown's command,
His father fought for Ireland fifty years before,
But the Free State cut their losses and the English won the war.

When internment without trial was the order of the day,
When his brother was arrested and his friends were blown away,
When he was beaten near to death he decided come what may,
He would throw his lot in with the Provos and he joined thе IRA.

In the occupied six counties pеrhaps it never will be known,
All the foreign soldiers in Armagh and Tyrone,
Who decided to head back across the Irish Sea,
So they wouldn't have to meet the man from south of Derry.

He never wavered in his battle for Irish liberty,
And the crown would soon regret the day they made him their enemy,
The Brits called it 'bandit country' and it filled them all with fright,
In the border lands, he who walked the hills at night.

[Chorus]
"Up the Provos," that's what he said,
Three little words that filled the British Crown with dread,
With a rifle on his shoulder, a timer and a fuse,
Long may we remember Commandante Francis Hughes,
Long may we remember Commandante Francis Hughes.

[Verse]
Once he was surrounded by the SAS,
How he might escape was anybody's guess,
In his boots and camouflage he didn't miss a beat,
He walked right past the soldiers and out into the street.

Once he came upon a checkpoint, the soldier didn't want to die,
He recognized our Francis and the soldier waved him by,
He didn't want to find out if he could take what he could give,
He knew there'd be a shootout and the soldier chose to live.

[Chorus]
"Up the Provos," that's what he said,
And from this farmer's son better men had fled,
With a rifle on his shoulder, a timer and a fuse,
Long may we remember Commandante Francis Hughes,
Long may we remember Commandante Francis Hughes.

[Verse]
He was the North's most wanted man with his photo everywhere,
But he eluded capture with his wit and dyed blond hair,
For six years he was active, three times as long as most,
He became a legend, north to south and coast to coast.

He came upon two soldiers out one night on patrol,
They caught him in the firefight and the bullets took their toll,
He crawled off into the bushes but they found him the next day,
Grabbed him by his arms and they carried him away.

[Chorus]
"Up the Provos," that's what he said,
With a shattered bone and a body full of lead,
With a rifle on his shoulder, a timer and a fuse,
Long may we remember Commandante Francis Hughes,
Long may we remember Commandante Francis Hughes.

[Verse]
They beat him and they tortured him and they gave him eighty years,
When they brought him to the H-Blocks he was greeted there with cheers,
He went right onto the blanket and when the hunger strike began,
He was the first to volunteer along with Bobby Sands.

He was an Irish soldier and that's how he did his time,
He knew he was no criminal when occupation was the crime,
Bobby Sands had passed beyond us where Francis soon would be,
And although he couldn't stand and he could barely see.

[Chorus]
"Up the Provos," that's what he said,
As they carried him to hospital to lay in his death bed,
With a rifle on his shoulder, a timer and a fuse,
Long may we remember Commandante Francis Hughes.

[Chorus]
"Up the Provos," that's what he said,
And soon there'd be another standing in his stead,
With a rifle on his shoulder, a timer and a fuse,
Long may we remember Commandante Francis Hughes,
Long may we remember Commandante Francis Hughes.