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The Dubliners McAlpine's Fusiliers Lyrics. McAlpine's Fusiliers lyrics performed by The Dubliners: Spoken: 'Twas in the year of 'thirty-nine when the sky was full of lead When Hitler was heading for Poland, and Paddy for Holyhead Come all you pincher laddies and you long-distance men The song relates to the migration of Irish labourers from Ireland to Britain during the 20th century. McAlpine's Fusiliers - The Ronnie Drew Group,{The Dubliners} McAlpine's Fusiliers is an Irish ballad set to a traditional air, popularised in the early 1960s by Dominic Behan.