The Orange And The Green

"The Orange And The Green" is an Irish folk song about a man whose father was a Protestant (Orange) and his mother was a Catholic (Green). It follows the man's trials as the product of religious intermarriage and how mixed up he turned out to be from such an upbringing. This song was recorded by The Irish Rovers, The Wolfe Tones, and more recently by the Brobdingnagian Bards. It is sung to the same tune as The Wearing of the Green.

Lyrics:

:Refrain:Oh, it is the biggest mix-up that you have ever seen.:My father, he was Orange and me mother, she was green.

:Oh, my father was an Ulsterman, proud Protestant was he.:My mother was a Catholic girl from Country Cork was she.:They were married in two churches and lived happily enough:Until the day when I was born when things got rather tough.

:Refrain

:Baptised by Father Ivey I was rushed away by car:To be made a little Orangeman, my father's shining star.:I was christened David Anthony but still in spite of that:To my father I was William while my mother called me Pat.

:Refrain

:With mother every Sunday to Mass I'd proudly stroll,:Then after that the Orange Lodge would try to save my soul.:Though both sides tried to claim me, well I was smart because:I'd play the flute or play the harp depending where I was.

:Refrain

:One day my ma's relations came 'round to visit me:Just as my father's kinfolk were all sitting down to tea.:We tried to smoothe things over, but they all began to fight:And me being strickly neutral I punched everyone in sight!

:Refrain

:My parents never could agree about my type of school,:My learning was all done at home, that why I'm such a fool.:They both passed on, God rest them, but left me caught between:That awful colour problem of the Orange and the Green.

:Refrain