Roll Of Honour
2013 | Folk
“Well this brave R.U.C. man came marchin' up our street. -- 600 British soldiers he had lined up at his feet. -- "Come out ye cowardly Fenians, come on out and fight." -- He cried "I'm only jokin'!", when he heard the Armalite."
Trivia
- The song is set to the tune of the traditional song "Home, Boys, Home."
- The song was an Irish Republican song that praises Armalite rifles that were used by republican paramilitaries against British security forces in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
- Each chorus celebrates Provisional IRA ("Provos") actions and references different republican strongholds.
THE HOT TAKES
Luke Tatum
This is such a fun song. You've probably heard someone say "An armed society is a polite society," and while this song is about historical unrest in a period of unrest, I think it conveys the point nicely. When soldiers try to harass our protagonist, what does he do? Why he leans on his "little Armalite,"--probably an AR-18--to help solve the problems. It's amazing what the potential for lethal force can do to calm down tyrants and harassers. The open carry movement here in Texas has shown this again and again. Cops who would normally be happy to stop demonstrators and round people up suddenly become a lot more polite when entering a sea of privately owned firearms.
Sherry Voluntary
This old Provisional Irish Republican Army song, lays out exactly why any people should always value being armed as a means to repel tyrants. So many get comfortable and make the fatal mistake of believing in the benevolence of their rulers. Never forget that those that can do violence for you, can do violence to you. Better to just rethink the use of violence for political ends and leave the idea of rulers behind.
Nicky P
I'm not a big fan of armed conflict but it is the only tool the state has in its arsenal. This song is a call to onlookers to see what the state has done to the liberties guaranteed us by the constitution. It's position being that they've been eroded away to nothing and the only solution is a literal firefight between the state and the populace. As of the writing of this it seems as though reality may pass in Virginia where counties and towns are declaring second amendment sanctuary zones where they're refusing to enforce restrictive gun legislation coming down from the state. There is already talk of turning the national guard at the citizenry to force these jurisdictions into compliance. I think all libertarians would prefer to resolve all conflicts peacefully. It seems as though the state will always refuse that and opt for violence.