thumb|A group of [[Black and Tans and Auxiliaries outside the London and North Western Hotel in Dublin following an IRA attack, April 1921]]

"Come Out, Ye Black and Tans", also known simply as "The Black and Tans", is an Irish rebel song, written by Dominic Behan, which criticises and satirises pro-British Irishmen and the actions of the British army in its colonial wars. Its title refers to the Black and Tans, mainly former British Army soldiers, who reinforced the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) during the Irish War of Independence and committed many acts of violence and terror against the Irish population.

The song initially describes Behan's father Stephen Behan coming home drunk and provoking pro-British neighbours, referencing political divisions in working-class Dublin of the 1920s and 1930s. It then continues to list examples of British injustice against Ireland, linking it to colonial violence of the British Empire. The term "Black and Tans" is used pejoratively in the song to describe Irish people living in Dublin, both Catholics and Protestants, who were pro-British.

Behan composed the lyrics in the early 1960s, to the tune of the traditional song '. It was recorded in 1972 by the Irish traditional music group The Wolfe Tones, and charted in 2020. The song's melody is based on the traditional Ulster Protestant folksong The Boyne Water, which dates from the late 17th century. The setting of the song is the Dublin into which Behan was born in the late 1920s, and the main character in the song (who is calling his neighbours "Black and Tans"), is believed to be Behan's father, Stephen Behan, who was a prominent Irish republican, and who had fought in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. A variant of the tune migrated to Scotland and to the Appalachian Mountains, where it became the most common melody for the traditional folk ballad Barbara Allen.

Lyrics

thumb|A green area of [[Killeshandra]]

While the song title and lyrics refer to the Black and Tans from the War of Independence, the Black and Tans themselves do not figure prominently in the lyrics.). The lyrics reference the disdain by his neighbours (saying "sneers and jeers that you loudly let us hear"), to the execution of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, and to the fall of the Irish nationalist political leader, Charles Stewart Parnell.

The Wolfe Tones version of the song recharted in 2019–2020 (see below), and the group posted on their Twitter account that the proceeds from the re-charting would be donated to an Irish homeless charity run by Peter McVerry.

21st-century use

Celtic Football Club

In an article about the violence and bigotry surrounding Old Firm football matches, the Irish Independent wrote: "Then there's the stereotypical image of the Celtic supporters wearing T-shirts of 'undefeated army' and having their phones ringing to the sound of 'Come out ye black and tans.

Advertising campaigns

In March 2019, Irish food company, Brady Family Ham, released an advertising video that went viral, which used the tune of the song but with amended lyrics, and replacing the word "Tan" with "Ham", that was directed by Father Ted director Declan Lowney.

This Time with Alan Partridge (2019)

In March 2019, episode four of Steve Coogan's This Time with Alan Partridge, ended with a rendition of "Come Out, Ye Black and Tans" by Coogan, acting in-character as the fictional Irish farmer Martin Brennan.

RIC commemoration (2020)

In January 2020, the Wolfe Tones' version of "Come Out Ye Black and Tans" reached No. 1 on the Ireland and UK iTunes charts, as part of "widespread criticism" of the (Irish) Government's planned commemoration of the RIC, as part of its "Decade of Commemoration" (commemorating the events of 19121922 in Ireland). and also debuted at No. 1 in the Scottish Singles Chart, which only counts paid-for sales and does not include streaming. The band committed to donating the proceeds of this recent success to a Dublin-based homeless charity. and was listed in the "10 defining moments" of the election by the Irish Independent. An adapted version of the song was also used by the Independent TD for Kerry, Michael Healy-Rae, as a campaign song.

Charts

The Wolfe Tones version

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! scope="col"| Chart (2020)

! scope="col"| Peak <br />position

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! scope="row"| Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA)

| 19

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References

  • Come Out, Ye Black and Tans, the Wolfe Tones 1972 version
  • Come Out, Ye Black and Tans, Lyrics.com