This song is about the execution of Paul Bogle (ca. 1820 -- 1865) a Jamaican Baptist deacon and is a National Hero of Jamaica. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay Protests, which agitated for justice and fair treatment for all in Jamaica. Leading the Morant Bay rebellion, he was captured and hanged on 24 October 1865 in the Morant Bay Court House and executed by the United Kingdom authorities. He is depicted on the heads side of the Jamaican 10 cent coin. His face was also depicted on the Jamaican two dollar bill. However, this bill is no longer used in Jamaican currency. The Paul Bogle High School in the parish of his birth is named after him.