Well, have you heard the story,
That is going round today,
For me good mate Paddy Reilly,
Upped and joined the IRA,
And he's off with a riffle in his hand,
And he's fighting with that gallant band,
They're fighting for the freedom of the people.

He wears no fancy uniform,
He learnt no clever drill,
But he trained with his riffle,
And he uses it to kill,
And he moves the cunning of a fox,
And he's firing lead, no longer rocks,
Well here's to the men like Paddy Reilly.

He used to work on a building site,
He was shop steward there,
Now there's a ban on overtime,
So he's got time to spare,
And so he's learned a different trade,
And when the army make a raid,
They have to face the men like Paddy Reilly.

He doesn't care who fought for what,
At the Battle of the Boyne,
But he knows what it's like to live,
On the Falls Road and Ardoyne,
For religion's not his cup of tea,
But he's got a thing about liberty,
Fighting now for freedom, Paddy Reilly.

For liberals and moderates,
He does not give a straw,
They let us rot for fifty years,
And said, "Now keep the law",
They say, "Now wait another hundred years,
Then help to allay these right-wing fears,
Crawl back in your gutter, Paddy Reilly".

But Paddy now is off his knees,
And standing on his feet,
And the people there behind him,
Weave an empire's winding sheet,
For dodging among the tanks and cars,
He whiles away the night time hours,
Planting bombs for freedom, Paddy Reilly.