Johnson's Motor Car

DESCRIPTION: The singer meets another Irish rebel, with orders to go to Dunbar. They decide to requisition the car driven by Doctor Johnson. They send a message urgently calling for his services, then ambush him. They promise to return the car when Ireland is free
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: IRA rebellion technology travel
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 320, "Johnson's Motor Car" (1 text)
DT, JHNMTR
Roud #4833
NOTES [81 words]: It probably says something about the state of Anglo-Irish relations that a tale of deception, intrigue, and highway robbery, all in support of terrorism, is regarded as humorous.
It is certainly true that cars were highly valued in the period of the Irish quest for independence. Calton Younger, in Ireland's Civil War, tells a story on page 376 of a doctor who had a car -- and deliberately disabled it to prevent theft, before recommissioning it briefly to help Free State leaders. - RBW
File: FSWB320A

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