BACK HOME IN DERRY Top
Bobby Sands

In 1803 we sailed out to sea
Out from the sweet town of Derry
For Australia bound if we didn't all drown
And the marks of our fetters we carried

In the rusty iron chains we cryed for our wains
As our good wives we left in sorrow.
As the mainsails unfurled our curses we hurled
On the English and thoughts of tomorrow.

CHORUS

And it’s Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh Oh I wish I was back home in Derry.

I cursed them to hell as our bow fought the swell.
Our ship danced like a moth in the firelights
White horses rode high as the devil passed by
Taking souls to Hades by twilight

Five weeks out to sea we were now forty-three
Our comrades we buried each morning.
In our own slime we were lost in a time.
Endless night without a dawning

Van Dieman's land is a hell for a man
To live out his whole life in slavery.
When the climate is raw and the gun makes the law.
Neither wind nor rain cares for bravery

Twenty years have gone by and I've ended me bond
Me comrades' ghosts are behind me
A rebel I came and I'II die the same
On the cold winds of night you will find me

BLACK IS THE COLOR Top

Traditional

Black is the color of my true love's hair
Her lips are like a rose so fair
And the prettiest face and the neatest hands.
I love the grass whereon she stands
She with the wondrous hair.

Black is the color of my true love's hair
Her face is something truly rare.
Oh I do love my love and so well she knows
I love the ground whereon she goes.
She with the wondrous hair.

Black is the color of my true love's hair
Alone, my life would be so bare.
I would sigh, I would weep,
I would never fall asleep
My love is 'way beyond compare
She with the wondrous hair.
Black, black, black
is the color of my true love's hair.

BLACK VELVET BAND Top

Traditional CHORUSHer eyes they shone like diamondsYou’d think she was queen of the landAnd her hair hung over her shoulderTied up with a black velvet band In a neat little town they call Belfast Apprenticed to trade I was boundAnd many hour’s sweet happiness I spent in that neat little town ‘Til bad misfortune came oer meThat caused me to stray from the landFar away from my friends and relationsTo follow the black velvet band Well I was out strolling one eveningNot meaning to go very farWhen I met with a pretty young damselWho was selling her trade in the bar When a watch she took from a customerAnd slipped it right into my handThen the Watch came and put me in prisonBad luck to the black velvet band Next morning before judge and juryFor a trial I had to appearAnd the judge he said, “You young fellows..The case against you’s quite clear. And seven long years is your sentenceYou’re going to Van Diemen’s land Far away from your friends and relationsTo follow the black velvet band.” So come all you jolly young fellowsI’d have you take warning by meWhenever you’re out on the liquor, me ladsBeware of the pretty colleen. She’ll fill you with whiskey and porterUntil you’re not able to standAnd the very next thing that you’ll know, me ladsYou’re landed in Van Diemn’s land.

BONNY SHIP THE DIAMOND Top

Traditional

The Diamond is a ship, my lads, for the Davis Strait she's bound
And the quay it is all garnished with bonny lasses 'round
Captain Thompson gives the order to sail the ocean wide
Where the sun it never sets, my lads, no darkness dims the sky

CHORUS
So it's cheer up my lads, let your hearts never fail
The bonny ship, the Diamond, goes a-fishing for the whale

Along the quay at Peterhead, the lasses gather round,
With their shawls all pulled around them and the salt tears runnin' down
Don't you cry, my bonny lass, though you’ll be left behind,
For the rose will grow on Greenland's ice before I’ll change my mind.

Here's a health to the Resolution, likewise the Eliza Dain
Here's a health to the Battler of Montrose and the Liza ship of fame
We wear the trouser of the white and the jackets of the blue
When we return to Peterhead, we'll have sweethearts anew

It'll be bright both day and night when the Greenland lads return
With a ship that's full of oil, my lads, and monies for to burn
We'll make the cradles for to rock and the blankets for to tear
And every lass in Peterhead will sing "Hushabye, my dear"

BRENNAN ON THE MOOR Top

'Tis of a brave young highwayman this story I will tell

His name was Willie Brennan and in Ireland he did dwell

It was on the Kilwood Mountain he commenced his wild career

And many a wealthy nobleman before him shook with fear

CHORUS

It was Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor

Bold, brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor

One day upon the highway as young Willie he went down

He met the mayor of Cashiell a mile outside of town

The mayor he knew his features and he said, Young man, said he

Your name is Willie Brennan, you must come along with me

Now Brennan's wife had gone to town provisions for to buy

And when she saw her Willie she commenced to weep and cry

Said, Hand to me that tenpenny, as soon as Willie spoke

She handed him a blunderbuss from underneath her cloak

Now with this loaded blunderbuss - the truth I will unfold -

He made the mayor to tremble and he robbed him of his gold

One hundred pounds was offered for his apprehension there

So he, with horse and saddle to the mountains did repair

Now Brennan being an outlaw upon the mountains high

With cavalry and infantry to take him they did try

He laughed at them with scorn until at last 'twas said

By a false-hearted woman he was cruelly betrayed

They hanged Brennan at the crossroads, in chains he hung and dried

But still they say that, in the night, some do see him ride

They see him with his blunderbuss, all in the midnight chill

Along, along the King's highway rides Willie Brennan still!

CAPTAIN KIDD Top

CHORUS

My name is Captain Kidd as I sailed as I sailed

My name is Captain Kidd as I sailed

My name is Captain Kidd and God‘s laws I did forbid

And most wickedly I did as I sailed

My father taught me well to shun the gates of Hell

But against him I rebelled as I sailed

He shoved a bible in my hand but I left it in the sand

As I pulled away from land as I sailed

I murdered William Moore and I left him in his gore

Twenty leagues away from shore as I sailed

And being crueler still, his gunner I did kill

Oh his precious blood did spill as I sailed

I was sick and nigh to death and I vowed with every breath

To walk in Wisdom‘s path as I sailed

But my repentance lasted not and my vows I soon forgot

Oh damnation is my lot as I sailed

To the execution dock, lay my head upon the block

The laws no more I‘ll mock as I sailed

So take warning here and heed to avoid bad company

Or you‘ll end up just like me as I sailed

COME OUT YE BLACK AND TANS Top

I was born on a Dublin street where the lyre drums do beat
And the loving English feet they tramped all over us,
And every single night when me father'd come home tight
He'd invite the neighbors outside with this chorus:

CHORUS

Oh, come out you black and tans
Come out and fight me like a man
Show your wife all your medals won at Flanders
And how the IRA
Made you run like hell away,
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra.

Come let me hear you tell
How you stoned the great Pernell
Though you thought him well you really persecuted
And all the snears and jeers
When you bravely let us hear
How our heroes all sixteen were executed

Come tell us how you slew
Those brave Arabs two by two
Like the Zulus they had spears and bows and arrows,
How you bravely slew each one
With your sixteen pounder gun
And you frightened them poor natives to their marrow.

Allen Larkin you hung high
When he bravely called you swine!
Robert Emmett you tried and then bartered
High upon that scaffold high,
How you murdered him with joy!
And the Croppy Boys from Wexford you did slaughter!

The day is coming fast
And the time is here at last
When each yeoman will be cast aside before us
And if there be a need
Sure my kids will sing, "Godspeed!"
With a verse or two of Steven Beehan's chorus

COURTING IN THE KITCHEN Top

Come single bell and beau, unto me pay attention
Don't ever fall in love, tis the devil's own invention
For once I fell in love with a maiden so bewitching
Miss Henrietta Bell down in Captain Kelly's kitchen

CHORUS

With me toora loora lay and me toora loora laddie

And me toora loora lay and me toora loora laddie

Oh, well Sunday bein' the day we were to have the flare-up
I dressed meself quite gay and I frizzed and oiled me hair up
The Captain had no wife and he had gone a-fishing
And we kicked up high life below stairs in the kitchen

With her arm around me waist, she slyly hinted marriage
To the door in dreadful haste came Captain Kelly's carriage
Her looks told me fair well and they were not bewitchen
She’d wish I’d get the hell or somewhere from the kitchen

She flew up of my knees full 5 feet up or higher

And over head and heals threw me slap into the fire

My new repealer’s coat the I bought from Mr. Mitchell

For a 30 shilling note went to blazes in the kitchen

When the Captain came downstairs, though he saw me situation
Despite all me prayers I was marched off to the station
For me they’d set no bail, but to get home I was itchin'
And I had to tell the tale, how I came into the kitchen

Now, I said she did invite me, but she gave a flat denial
For assault she did indict me, and I was sent for trial
She swore I robbed the house and in spite of all her schreechin'
And I got six months hard for me courtin' in the kitchen

DANNY BOY Top

Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer's gone, and all the roses falling
'Tis you must go, 'tis you must go and I must bide

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be there in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so

But if you come, and all the flowers are dying
If I am dead, as dead I may well be
You'll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me

And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me
And all my grave shall warm and sweeter be
If you will bend and tell me that you love me
Then I will sleep in peace until you come to me

DIGGY LIGGY Top

Diggy Liggy Li and Diggy Liggy Lo

Fell in love at the fay-do-do

Her pop was cold and ran the show

For Diggy Liggy Li and Diggy Liggy Lo

CHORUS

Diggy Liggy Li and Diggy Liggy Lo

Fell in love at the fay-do-do

No one else could ever show

So much love for Diggy Liggy Lo

Now that’s the place you find romance

Where they do the Cajun dance

Steal a kiss at every chance

Show your love with every glance

He finally went and seen her pa

And now he’s got a pa-in-law

Move on with the bayou flow

Now they’ve got a little Diggy Liggy Lo

DIRTY OLD TOWN Top

I met my love by the gasworks wall

I dreamed a dream by the old canal

I kissed my girl by the factory wall

Dirty old town, dirty old town

Clouds are drifting all across the moon

Cats are prowling all along the beat

Springs a girl from the streets at night

Dirty old town, dirty old town

Heard a siren coming from the dock

Saw a train set the night on fire

Smelled the spring in the smoky air

Dirty old town, dirty old town

I'm going to take a good sharp ax

Shining steel tempered in the fire

Gonna chop you down like an old dead tree

Dirty old town, dirty old town

DONALD WHERE’S YOUR TROOSERS? Top

I just came down from the Isle of Skye

I’m no very big and I’m awful shy

All the lassies shout as I walk by

“Donald, where’s your troosers?”

CHORUS

Let the wind blow high and the wind blow low

Through the streets in my kilt I go

All the lassies cry “Hello!

Donald where’s your troosers?”

I went to a fancy ball

It was slippery in the hall

I was feared that I may fall

Because I had nae on my troosers

CHORUS

I went down to London town

To have a little fun in the Underground

All the ladies turned around, saying

“Donald where’s your troosers?”

CHORUS

The lassies love me every one

But they must catch me if they can

You canna put the breeks on a highland man, saying,

“Donald where’s your troosers?”

DRUNKEN SAILOR Top

Traditional

CHORUS

Way hay and up she rises

Earl-eye in the morning

Lyrics change, but here are a few:

Put him in a long-boat till he's sober

Put him in the scuppers with a hose-pipe on him.

Put him in charge of an Exxon tanker

Shave his legs and call him Mary

Give him the hair of the dog that bit him

Take 'im and shake 'im and try an' wake 'im.

Give 'im a dose of salt and water.

Shave his belly with a rusty razor.

Put him in the guard room till he gets sober.

What shall we do with the nagging housewife

Put her in bed with the drunken sailor!

FERRYMAN Top

All the little boats are gone from the banks of Anna Liffey

And the ferrymen are stranded on the quay

Oh the Dublin docks are dying and a way of life is gone

And Molly it was part of you and me

CHORUS

Where the strawberry beds sweep down to the Liffey

You kiss away the worries from my brow

Oh I loved you well today, and I’ll love you more tomorrow

If you ever loved me Molly love me now

Twas the only job I knew, it was hard but never lonely

The Liffey Ferry made a man of me

But it’s gone without a whisper, forgotten even now

And it’s over Molly, over can’t you see

So now I’ll tend the yard and spend me days a talking

I’ll hear them whisper Charlie’s on the dole

Oh but Molly we’re still living and darling we’re still young

And that river never owned my heart and soul

FIELDS OF ATHENRY Top

Pete St. John

By a lonely prison wall, he heard a young girl calling

"Michael, they have taken you away,

For you stole Trevelyan's corn,

So our child might see the morn.

Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay."

CHORUS

Low lie the fields of Athenry

Where once we watched the small free birds fly

Our love was on the wing

We had dreams and songs to sing

It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

By a lonely prison wall, she heard a young man calling

"Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free

Against the famine and the crown, I rebelled, they knocked me down.

Now you must raise our child with dignity."

By a lonely harbor wall, she watched the last star falling

As the prison ship sailed out against the sky

Sure she’ll wait and hope and pray for her love in Botany Bay

It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

FINNEGAN'S WAKE Top

Tim Finnegan lived in Wattlin' Street
A gentleman, Irish, mighty odd
He had a tongue both rich and sweet
And to rise in the world he carried a hod
Now Tim had a sort of the tipplin' way
With a love of the whiskey he was born
And to help him on with his work each day
He'd a "drop of the cray-thur" every morn

CHORUS

Whack fol the darn O, dance to your partner
Whelt the floor, your trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth I told you
Lots of fun at Finnegan's wake!

One mornin' Tim was rather full
His head was heavy and it made him shake
He fell from the ladder and broke his skull
And they carried him home his corpse to wake
They wrapped him up in a nice clean sheet
And laid him out upon the bed
A gallon of whiskey at his feet
And a barrel of porter at his head

His friends assembled at the wake
And Mrs. Finnegan called for lunch
First they brought in tay and cake
Then pipes, tobacco and whiskey punch
Then Biddy O'Brien began to cry
"Such a nice clean corpse, did you ever see?
"O Tim, mavourneen, why did you die?"
Arragh, hold your gob said Paddy McGhee!

Then Maggie O'Connor took up the moan
"O Biddy," says she, "You're wrong, I'm sure"
Biddy she gave her a belt in the gob
And left her sprawlin' on the floor
And then a mighty war did rage
'Twas woman to woman and man to man
Shillelagh law was all the rage
And a row and a ruction soon began

Then Mickey Maloney ducked his head
When a noggin of whiskey flew at him
It missed, and falling on the bed
The liquor scattered over Tim!
Bedad he revises! See how he raises!
Timothy rising from the bed,
Says,"Whirl your whiskey around like blazes
Thundering Jesus do ya think I'm dead?"

FISHERMAN’S BLUES Top

The Waterboys

I wish I was a fisherman tumblin' on the seas
Far away from dry land and it's bitter memories
Castin' out my sweet line with abandonment and love
No ceiling bearin' down on me save the starry sky above
With light in my head
with you in my arms...

I wish I was a brakeman on a hurtlin fevered train
Crashin head long into the heartland like a cannon in the rain
With the beatin of the sleepers and the burnin of the coal
Town after town flashin by and a night that's full of soul
With light in my head
With you in my arms...

Tomorrow I will be loosened from the bonds that hold me fast
And the chains all around me will fall away at last
And on that fine and fateful day I will take thee in my hand
I will ride on a train, I will be the fisherman
With light in my head
You in my arms...

FOLLOW ME UP TO CARLOW Top

Lift MacCahir ogue your face
Brooding o'er the old disgrace
That black FitzWilliam stormed your place
Drove you to the Fern!
Grey said victory was sure
Soon the Firebrand he'd secure
Until he met at Glenmalure
Feagh MacHugh O'Byrne

CHORUS
Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Feagh will do what Feagh will dare
Now FitzWilliam, have a care
Fallen is your star, low
Up with halbert out with sword
On we'll go for by the Lord
Feagh MacHugh has given the word
Follow me up to Carlow!

See the swords of Glen Imayle
Flashing o'er the English Pale
See all the children of the Gael
Beneath O'Byrne's banners
Rooster of the fighting stock
Would you let a Saxon cock
Crow out upon an Irish rock
Fly up and teach him manners

Now from Tassagart to Clonmore
There flows a stream of Saxon gore
Och, great is Rory Oge O'More
At sending the loons to Hades
White is sick and Grey has fled
Now for black FitzWilliam's head
We'll send it over, dripping red
To Queen Liza and her ladies

FOX Top

Adapted from Steeleye Span

You can hound me now you've found me, but I'm far more cunning than you.
I'm a shy fox, I'm a sly fox and I'll teach you a lesson or two.
I'll run you through the hawthorn hedge and tear your dogs to shreds.
I'll lead you from the open fields into the flower beds.
I'll lead you from the open fields into the nearest town
and take you to my hunting ground.

CHORUS

Run, run, run

I won't give in, I’ll never give in
Run, run, run,

I won't give in, I'll never give in

You can hound me now you've found me, but I'm far more cunning than you.
I'm a brown fox, I'm a town fox and I'll teach you a lesson or two.
I'll introduce the electric fence to every horse and hound
and watch the horses suffering upon the stony ground.
I'll lead you from the open fields into the nearest town.
and take you to my hunting ground.

GALWAY GIRL Top

Well I took a stroll on the old long walk

On a day-I-ay-I-ay

I met a little girl and we stopped to talk

On a fine day –I-ay –I-ay

CHORUS

And I ask you friends, what’s a fella to do

‘Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue

And I knew right then, I’d be taking a whirl

‘Round the Salthill Prom with a Galway girl

We were halfway there when the rain came down

On a day –I-ay –I ay

And she asked me up to her flat downtown

On a fine soft day-I-ay

CHORUS

And I ask you, friend, what’s a fella to do

‘Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue

So I took her hand and I gave it a twirl

And I Iost my heart to a Galway girl

When I woke up I was all alone

With a broken heart and a ticket home

CHORUS

And I ask you friend, tell me what would you do

If her hair was black and her eyes were blue

I’ve traveled around, I’ve been all over this world

Boys, I ain’t never seen nothing like a Galway girl

HARTLEPOOL MONKEY Top

Well, it happened up in Hartlepool about the time of France,
The Emperor Napoleon was leading us the dance,
When up along the coast came a French man-o-war
And the captain’s old pet monkey got washed up on the shore.

CHORUS: Singing old folks, young folks, every man and each
Come and see the Frenchie who's landed on the beach.
He's got long arms, a great long tail and he's covered all in hair.
We think that he's a spy….. so we'll hang him in the square!

Now the Lord Mayor of Hartlepool was walking down the shore
When he saw this funny thing he'd never seen before.
For sitting in the sand was a little hairy man,
Clutching a banana in his little hairy hand.

Well the Mayor fetched the Town Clerk who hurried to the shore.
There they found this little man where he had been before.
A crowd had gathered 'round him 'cause he was the strangest sight
Since the Sporting Club got fire on the previous Friday Night!

Now, Constable Parsons, he hurried to the scene.
He viewed the situation and he licked his pencil clean.
He said, "Causing a disturbance is a serious offence
And every thing you say, it will go down in evidence!”

When this little man spoke, a funny thing occured,
For Constable parsons couldn't understand a word.
The reason for his puzzlement the crowd could plainly see:
This little man's a foreigner from far across the sea!

So they hung... hung... this little Frenchie from the gallows in the town
With a rope... rope... around his little neck, and his tail all hanging down
As a warning to Napoleon to make himself a rule
And not to send his little hairy spies to dear old Hartlepool!

HILLS OF CONNEMARA Top

Traditional

CHORUS

Gather up the pots and the old tin cans

The mash, the corn, the barley and the bran

Run like the devil from the excise man

Keep the smoke from rising Barney

Now keep your eyes well peeled today

The tall, tall men are on their way

They’re searching for the mountain Tay

In the hills of Connemara

A gallon for the butcher and a quart for John

And a bottle for poor old father Tom

Just help the poor old dear along

In the hills of Connemara

Don’t swing to the left, don’t swing to the right

Sure excise men can dance all night

Drinking up the Tay ‘til the broad daylight

In the hills of Connemara

Now stand your ground and don’t you fall

The excise men, they’re at the wall

Jesus Christ they’re drinking it all

In the hills of Connemara

IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD Top

Sean McGowan

If I should fall from grace with god
Where no doctor can relieve me
If Im buried neath the sod
But the angels wont receive me

CHORUS

Let me go, boys
Let me go, boys
Let me go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

This land was always ours
Was the proud land of our fathers
It belongs to us and them
Not to any of the others

Let them go, boys
Let them go, boys
Let them go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

Bury me at sea
Where no murdered ghost can haunt me
If I rock upon the waves
Then no corpse can lie upon me

Its coming up three, boys
Keeps coming up three, boys
Let them go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

If I should fall from grace with god
Where no doctor can relieve me
If Im buried neath the sod
But the angels wont receive me

Let me go, boys
Let me go, boys
Let me go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry GA_googleFillSlot("lyricsfreak-300x50-btf");

I USETA LOVE HER Top

I have fallen for another, she can make her own way home

And even if she asked me now I’d let her go alone

I used to see her up to chapel when she went to Sunday Mass

When she’d go up to receive I’d kneel down there and watch her pass

(Oh the glory of her ass!)

CHORUS

I useta lover, useta lover once

- a long long time ago

I useta lover, useta lover once

- a long long time ago

It’s gone, all my lovin is gone

Oh ho it’s gone, all my loving is gone

D’you remember her collecting for the church on Christmas Eve?

She was on a forty eight hour fast, just water and black tea

I walked straight up and made an ostentatious contribution

And I winked at her to tell her I’d seduce her on the future

(When she’s feeling looser!) And the scuffy girl’s sing….

So now you know the truth of it, she’s no longer my obsession

Though the thoughts and dreams I had of her

would take six months in confession

See I met this young one Friday night and she’s into free expression

And her mission is to rid the world of sexual repression

(Then we had a session!)

I have fallen for another, she can make her own way home

JOCKEY FULL OF BOURBON Top

Tom Waits

Edna million in a drop dead suit
Dutch pink on a downtown train
Two-dollar pistol but the gun wont shoot
I’m in the corner on the pouring rain
Sixteen men on a dead mans chest
And I’ve been drinking from a broken cup
Two pairs of pants and a mohair vest
I’m full of bourbon, I cant stand up

CHORUS

Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, children are alone
Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are alone

Schiffer broke a bottle on Morgan’s head
And I’m stepping on the devils tail
Across the stripes of a full moons head
And through the bars of a Cuban jail
Bloody fingers on a purple knife
Flamingo drinking from a cocktail glass
I’m on the lawn with someone else’s wife
Admire the view from up on top of the mast

Yellow sheets on a Hong Kong bed
Stazybo horn and a slingerland ride
To the carnival is what she said
A hundred dollars makes it dark inside
Edna million in a drop dead suit
Dutch pink on a downtown train
Two-dollar pistol but the gun wont shoot
I’m in the corner on the pouring rain

JOHHNY I HARDLY KNEW YA Top

Lyrics by Molly Maguire

While going the road to sweet Athy, Haroo, haroo
While going the road to sweet Athy, Haroo, haroo
While going the road to sweet Athy
A stick in my hand a tear in my eye, a doleful damsel I heard cry
Johnny I hardly knew yeh.

CHORUS

With drums and guns and guns and drums, Haroo, Haroo
With drums and guns and guns and drums, Haroo, Haroo
With drums and guns and guns and drums the enemy nearly slew you,
My darling dear you look so queer, Johnny I hardly knew yeh

Where are the legs with which you run haroo, haroo
Where are the legs with which you run haroo, haroo
Where are the legs with which you run
When you went to shoulder a gun, oh I fear your dancing days are done
Johnny I hardly knew ya!

You haven't an arm and you haven't a leg haroo, haroo
You haven't an arm and you haven't a leg haroo, haroo
You haven't an arm and you haven't a leg you're an eyeless,

noseless, chickenless egg
You'll have to be put in a bowl to beg
Johnny I hardly knew ya!

I'm happy for to see you home haroo, haroo
I'm happy for to see you home haroo, haroo
I'm happy for to see you home
All from the island of Sullon, so low in the flesh so high in the bone
Johnny I hardly knew ya!

JOHNNY JUMP UP Top

I'll tell you a story that happened to me

One day, as I went down to Cork by the Lee:

The sun, it was bright, and the day, it was warm.

Says I, "A quiet pint wouldn't do me no harm".

I went to the barman; I says, "Give me a stout!" -

Says the barman, "I'm sorry: the beer is sold out;

Try whiskey or vodka ten years in the wood" -

Says I, "I'll try cider - I heard that it's good".

CHORUS

O never! O never! O never again!

If I live to a hundred or a hundred and ten!

For I fell to the ground, and I couldn't get up,

After drinking a pint of that Johnny Jump Up!

After lowering the third, I headed straight for the yard,

Where I bumped into Brophy, the big civic guard.

"Come here to me, boy - don't you know I'm the law?";

Well I up with my first, and I shattered his jaw!

He fell to the ground with his knees doubled up,

But it wasn't I hit him; 'twas the Johnny Jump up!

The next thing I saw, down in Cork by the Lee,

Was a cripple on crutches, and says he to me.

"I'm afraid for my life - I'll be struck by a car!

Would you help me across to the Railwaymen's Bar?"

And, after three pints of that cider so sweet,

He threw down his crutches, and he danced on his feet.

I went down the Lee Road a friend for to see.

They had him in a madhouse in Cork by the Lee.

And, when I got there - the truth I do tell -

They had the poor bugger locked up in a cell!

Says the guard testing him, "Say these words, if you can:

'Round the ragged rocks the ragged rascal ran' " -

"Tell them I'm not crazy! Tell them I'm not mad!

'Twas only six pints of that cider I had!"

A man died in the Union by the name of McNabb.

They washed him and laid him outside on a slab,

And, after the coroner his measurements did take,

His wife took him home to a bloody fine wake.

'Twas about twelve o'clock, and the beer, it was high,

When the corpse, he sat up, and he said, with a sigh,

"I can't get to Heaven! They won’t let me up

Till I bring them a pint of the Johnny Jump Up!".

JOHNNY TARR Top

Lemme tell you a little story about a man named Johnny Tarr

He was a hard drinking son of a preacher, always at the bar

Lager from the tap or shots of Paddy from the shelf

He could open his throttle and throw back a bottle as quick as the devil himself … Johnny Tarr!

Now word got around that Johnny Tarr was no pretender

From Clare to here they’d lock up the beer when Johnny went on a bender

Down at Dickey Mack’s, the Rising Sun, or at the Swan

He was drinking at seven by ten to eleven well all of the booze would be gone….Johnny Tarr!

CHORUS

Even if you saw it yourself, you wouldn’t believe it

And I wouldn’t trust a person like me if I were you

Sure I wasn’t there, and I swear I have an alibi

I heard it from a man who knows a fella who says it’s true!

It was nine in the morning on a cold rainy night

Johnny rolled into the Castle Bar, looking to get tight

He had money in his pocket, he had whiskey in his eye

He said: get up off your asses and set up the glasses, I’m drinking this place dry! Johnny Tarr!

Now all the serious boozers, they were soon broken hearted

When Johnny finished off six, and he was only getting started

Guzzling down the pints, knocking em back like candy

He was lookin’ alright to be drinking all night, then Nora brought out the brandy! Johnny Tarr!

Johnny drank the whole damn bottle, had another pint or two

When it made no impression he started a session with Scruffy Murphy’s home brew

He was waiting for a pint when his face turned green:

Jesus, Johnny fell down after only fifteen!

You could have heard a pin drop, as the crowd let out a roar

It took five Cork women to lift Johnny off the floor!

Well the doctor looked him over and said “Better call the hearse

But it’s not what you’re thinking, it wasn’t the drinkin - this man died of thirst!” Johnny Tarr!

JOLLY BUTCHER Top

CHORUS

Oh won't you come along with me love

Come along with me!

Come for one night and be my wife

And come along with me

Well it is of the jolly butcher as you might plainly see

As he roved out one evening in search of company

He went into a tavern and a fair girl he did see

Ah come for one night, be my wife, oh come along with me

Well he called for a candle to light their way to bed

And when he had her in the room these words to her he said,

"A sovereign I will give to you, for to embrace your charms

And all that night, that fair young maid, lied in the butchers' arms

Oh, early the next morning before he went his way

He looked unto that fair young maid and unto her did say,

"That sovereign that I gave to you, now do not think me strange,

Well that sovereign that I gave to you will you give me back me change!"

Well about a 12 months later as he roved out once more

He went into the tavern where he hade been before

He wasn't in there very long when his fair maid he did see

And she came with a baby three months old and placed it on his knee

And when he saw that baby, he began to curse and swear

And he said unto that fair young maid, "Just why’d you bring him here?!"

She said "He is your own, kind sir, and do not think me strange,

But that sovereign that you gave to me, well I gives you back your change!!"

KISS ME I’M IRISH Top

Twigger, Murphy, Wehmeyer, Reid

Old songs and old stories they keep us alive

Without our past, we would never survive

I am my island, my island is me

So you know what you can do

If you don’t like what you see

CHORUS

Kiss me I’m Irish

I am the Wild Rover

My eyes they are smiling

And I’m seldom sober

I like my whiskey

And I love to dance

So if you’re feeling as lucky as me

Take a chance…

And kiss me I’m Irish

My Heart beats a jig and me blood it flows green

I’ve been a rogue and a rambler from ocean to sea.

And I like a ‘bevy’, now and then, that I’ll never deny

But I only drink on the days of the week that end with a ‘Y’

I’m no saint, I’m no sinner, of that there’s no doubt.

I’ll tell ya the truth I am the one

That your grandmother warned you about!

Repeat Chorus

Dublin, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Cork

Kerry, Chicago, Armagh and New York

Belfast and Boston, Donegal and DC

Raise your glasses and sing, sing, sing with me!

Repeat Chorus 2x

LUKEY Top

CHORUS

Aha me boys a riddle-i-day

Lukey’s boat is painted green, Aha me boys

Lukey’s boat is painted green

It’s the prettiest boat that you’ve ever seen

Aha me boys a riddle –i- day

Ah says Lukey the blinds are down, Aha me boys

Ah says Lukey the binds are down

Me wife is dead and she’s on the ground

Aha me boys a riddle-i-day

Ah says Lukey I don’t care, Aha me boys

Ah says Lukey I don’t care

I’ll get me another in the spring of the year

Lukey’s trying to sail away, Aha me boys

Lukey’s trying to sail away

But his boat’s still tied up to the quay

Aha me boys a riddle-i-day

Ah says Lukey have no fear, Aha me boys

Ah says Lukey have no fear

My head still hurts from last night’s beer

Aha me boys a riddle-i-day

Lukey’s boat is painted green, Aha me boys

Lukey’s boat is painted green

It’s the prettiest boat that you’ve ever seen

Aha me boys a riddle –i- day

MAIDS WHEN YOU’RE YOUNG Top

NEVER WED AN OD MAN

Traditional

An old man came courting her

Hey dinga doorum di

An old man came courting her

She being young

An old man came courting her

Saying he’ll marry her

Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

CHORUS

Because they’ve got no faloorum

Fal diddle fal doorum

They’ve got no faloorum

Fal diddle fal day……

They’ve got no faloorum

They’ve lost their ding doorum

Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

Now when they went to church

Hey dinga doorum di

Now when they went to church

She being young

Now when they went to church

Down the aisle he did lurch

Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

Now when they went to bed

Hey dinga doorum di

Now when they went to bed

She being young

Now when they went to bed

He lay if he were dead

Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

She threw her leg over him

Hey dinga doorum di

She threw her leg over him

She being young

She threw her leg over him

Damn nearly smothered him

Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

Now when he went to sleep

Hey dinga doorum di

Now when he went to sleep

She being young

Now when he went to sleep

Out of bed she did creep

And into the arms of a handsome young man

And she found his faloorum

Fal diddle fal doorum

She found his faloorum

Fal diddle fal day

She found his faloorum

He got her ding doorum

Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

MARY MAC Top

There's a sweet lass and her name is Mary Mac
Make no mistake, she's the lass I'm gonna track
A lot of other fellas want to get up on her back
But I'm thinking they'll have to get up early

CHORUS
Mary Mac's mother’s makin' Mary Mac marry me
My mother's makin' me marry Mary Mac
I'm gonna marry Mary for my Mary to take care of me
We'll all be making merry when I marry Mary Mac

This wee lass she has a lot of class
She has a lot of brass, and her father thinks I'm gas
I'd be a silly ass for to let the matter pass
My father thinks she suits me rather fairly.

Now Mary and her mother go an awful lot together
In fact you hardly ever see the one without the other
And people often wonder if it’s Mary or her mother
Or the both of them together that I'm courting

Now the weddin's on a Wednesday and everything's arranged
Soon her name will change to mine unless her mind be changed
And with all of the arrangements, I'm just about deranged
Marriage is an awful undertakin'

It's sure to be a grand affair, grander than the fair
There's gonna be a coach and pair for every couple there
We'll dine upon the finest fare, I'm sure to get my share
And if I don't then I'll be very much mistaken.

MERMAID Top

Well I was a lad in the fishing town

An old man said to me

You can spend your life, your jolly life just sailing on the seas

You can search the world for pretty girls till your eyes are weak and dim

But don’t go searching for a mermaid son if you don’t know how to swim

CHORUS

Cause her hair was green as seaweed

Her skin was blue and pale

Her face it was a work of art

I love that girl with all my heart

But I only liked the upper part

I did not like the tail

So I signed on to a whaling ship

My first very day at sea

I seen a mermaid in the waves

Reaching out to me

Come live with me in the sea she said

Down on the ocean floor

I’ll show you a million wondrous things that you never seen before

So over I jumped and she pulled me down

Down to her seaweed bed

And a pillow made of a turtle shell she placed beneath my head

She fed me shrimp and caviar upon a silver dish

From her head to her waist it was just my taste

But the rest of her was fish

Cause her hair was green as seaweed

Her skin was blue and pale

Her face it was a work of art

I love that girl with all my heart

But I only liked the upper part

I did not like the tail

But then one day she swam away

So I sang to the clams and the whales

Oh how I miss her seaweed hair

And the silver shine of her scales

But then her sister she swam by

And set my heart awhirl

Cause her upper part was an ugly fish

But her bottom part was a girl

CHORUS

Yes her hair is green as seaweed

Her skin is blue and pale

Her legs they are a work of art

I love that girl with all my heart

I don’t give a damn about the upper part

Cause that’s how I get my TAIL

MY GOODNESS MY GUINNESS Top

When I was a young man with all my life ahead

Walking the streets with my Nelly

I met this old sailor who said you should be dead

If you don’t have a Guinness in your belly

CHORUS

My Goodness my Guinness I’ll have another pint

Something is shaking in my belly

And if I want to fix it I’ll have another pint

And drink it with my darling Nelly

I went into the pub to have another round

Four pints of Guinness in my belly

But when I finished ten, I was lying on the ground

Crawling home to my darling Nelly

OLD DUN COW Top

Some friends and I in a public house

Were playing dominoes one night

When into the room a fireman came

His face all chalky white

“What’s up?” says Brown, “Have you seen a ghost?”

“Have you seen your Aunt Mariah?”

“Oh my aunt Mariah be buggered,” says he.

“The bleeding pub’s on fire!”

“On fire?” says Brown, “What a bit of luck

Everybody follow me;

It’s down in the cellar if the fire’s not there.

Then we’ll have a grand old spree.”

So we went down with good old Brown

And the booze we could not miss

And we hadn’t been there ten minutes or more

Till we were fairly ….

CHORUS

Oh, there was Brown, WHERE?

UP SIDE DOWN!

Lappin’ up the whiskey off the floor

YUM YUM (ladies say)

Oh, booze – BOOZE! (men say)

The firemen cried,

As they came a knock at the door!

KNOCK TWICE

“Well don’t let em in till it’s mopped up

Somebody shouted , “MacIntyre!”

MACINTYRE!!!

And we all got blue blind paralytic drunk

When the Old Dun Cow caught fire

The Smith ran over to the port wine tub

And he gave it just a few hard knocks—

KNOCK KNOCK

He started taking off his pantaloons

Likewise his shoes and socks

“Oh no says,” says Brown, That aint allowed

You can’t do that in there,

Don’t be washing your trotters in the port wine tub

When we’ve got some ……. beer”

CHORUS

Just then there came a mighty crash

And half the bloody room gave way

And we were drowned by the fireman’s hose

All pisskey, wet and gay

So we got some tacks and some wet old sacks

And we pinned ourselves inside

And we sat there getting blind bleary-eyed drunk

While The Old Dun Cow got fried

CHORUS

NANCY WHISKEY Top

As I went down through Glasgow city

Just to see what I might spy

What should I see but Nancy Whiskey

A playful twinkle in her eye

CHORUS

Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Whiskey

Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Ohh

I bought her, I drank her, I had another

Nancy had a spell on me

Then she wreck’ered me, Nancy Whiskey

For seven years, a rollin' wheel

The more I held her, the more I loved her

Nancy had her spell on me

All I knew was Nancy Whiskey

The things I needed I could not see

As I awoke to slake my thirst

As I tried crawling from my bed

I fell down flat, I could not stagger

Nancy had me by the legs

Come on now lady, what's the owing

Tell me what there is to pay

Fifteen shillings that's the real rate going

Now pay me quickly and go away

NEW YORK GIRLS Top

As I was going down the Broadway

One evening last July

I met a maid she asked me trade

And a sailor lad says I

CHORUS

And away Shanty, My dear Annie

Oh, you New York Girls,

Can you dance the polka?

To Tiffany's I took her

I did not mind expense

I bought her two gold earrings

And they cost me fifteen cents

Says she, 'You fine new sailor

Now take me home you may'

But when we reached her cottage door

She this to me did say

My flash man he's a Yankee

With his hair cut short behind

He wears a pair of tall sea-boots

And he sails in the Blackbowline

He's homeward bound this evening

And with me he will stay

So get a move on, sailor-boy

Get cracking on your way

So I kissed her hard and proper

Afore her flash man came

And fare ye well, me Bowery gal

I know your little game

I wrapped me glad rags round me

And to the docks did steer

I'll never court another maid

I'll stick to rum and beer

I joined a Yankee blood-boat

And sailed away next morn

Don't ever fool around with gals

You're safer off Cape Horn

NIGHT PAT MURPHY DIED Top

Oh the night that Paddy Murphy died, is a night I'll never forget
Some of the boys got loaded drunk, and they ain't been sober yet;
As long as a bottle was passed around everyone was feelin' gay
O'Leary came with the bagpipes, some music for to play

CHORUS

That's how they showed their respect for Paddy Murphy
That's how they showed their honor and their pride;
They said it was a sin and shame and they winked at one another
And every drink in the place was full the night Pat Murphy died

As Mrs. Murphy sat in the corner pouring out her grief
Kelly and his gang came creap’in down the street
They went into an empty room and a bottle of whiskey stole
They put the bottle with the corpse to keep that whiskey cold

About two o'clock in the morning after empty'ing their jug
They lifted up the ice box lid to see poor Paddy's mug
They fixed clock so Mrs. Murphy couldn't tell the time
And at a quarter after three they argued it was nine

Eight o’clock in the morning the funeral left the house

But everyone but poor ole Mrs. Murphy was half souced.

They stopped the hearse on George Street outside Sundance Saloon
They all went in at half past eight and staggered out at noon

Someone asked ole Finnegan if anyone had died

Looks say he I just came for the ride

They walked up to the graveyard all in a very straight line
But when they reached the grave they found they left the corpse behind!

Oh the night that Paddy Murphy died, is a night I'll never forget
Some of the boys got loaded drunk and they ain't been sober yet;
As long as a bottle was passed around every man was feelin' gay
O'Leary came with the bagpipes, some music for to play

OLD BLACK RUM Top

Written by Hallet

I drank 16 doubles for the price of one

tryin to find the courage to talk to one

I asked her for a dance, not a second glance

my night had just begun

Well I‘d drink to the father or the holy ghost

kneeling at the alter of my nightly post

and I’ll raise a glass, not the first or last

come join me in this toast

CHORUS

’Cause the old black rum’s got a hold on me

like a dog wrapped ’round my leg

and the old black rum’s got a hold on me

will I live for another day

The queen of George Street just went walkin’ on by

walkin’ on by with some guy who don’t care

that she stood in line since half past nine

and spent three hours on her hair

Her friend is lookin’ at me with an evil grin

I think a bloody racket might soon begin

I must have said something to the George Street queen

now the boys are joining in.

So I drank all of my money and I slept out in the rain

Every day is different, but the nights are all the same

You never see the sun on the old black rum

and I know I’m gonna do it again.

I drank 16 doubles for the price of one

PADDY LAY BACK Top

Traditional

Twas a cold and dreary morning in December

And all of me money being spent

What a day it was I hardly can remember

So down to the shipping office I went

That day there was a great demand for sailors

For the Colonies, for ‘Frisco and for France

So I signed myself on board a Yankee whaler

And got paralytic drunk on ym advance

CHORUS

Paddy lay back (Paddy lay back)

Take in the stack (Take in the stack)

Turn a turn around the capstan, heave up all (heave up all)

About ship’s stations boys be hand (be handy)

For we’re bound for Valparaiso round the Horn

Now some of our fells had been drinking (been drinking)

And meself was heavily on the booze (on the booze)

So I sat upon me old sea chest a-thinking (-thinking)

That I’d turn into me bunk and have a snooze

I wished I was myself inside a tavern (a tavern)

Along with Irish paddies drinking beer (drinking beer)

Then I thought what a jolly lot are sailors (sailors)

And with me flipper I wiped away a tear

PUB DOWN IN THE VALLEY Top

Written by Scruffy Murphy from a traditional song

CHORUS

Hey Ho the good ‘ole pub

The pub down in the valley-o

A fine pub, a good old pub

A pub down in the valley-o

Now in this pub there was a floor

A big floor, a wooden floor

Floor in the pub, the pub down in the valley-o

Now on this floor there was a drunk

A big drunk, a sleepy drunk

Drunk on the floor, floor in the pub, pub down in the valley-o

Now on this drunk there was a glass

A pint glass, a frosty glass

Glass on the drunk, drunk on the floor, floor in the pub,

Pub down in the valley-o

Now in this glass there was some beer

Good beer, damn good beer

Beer in the glass, glass on the drunk, drunk on the floor,

Floor in the pub, pub down in the valley-o

Now in this beer there was a tongue

A red tongue, a sloppy tongue

Tongue in the beer, beer in the glass, glass on the drunk,

Drunk on the floor, floor in the pub, pub down in the valley-o

Now on this tongue there was a dog

Thirsty dog, a scruffy dog

Dog on the tongue, tongue in the beer, beer in the glass,

Glass on the drunk, drunk on the floor, floor in the pub, pub down in the valley-o

QUEEN OF ARGYLL Top

Andy Stuart of Silly Wizard

Gentlemen it is my duty
To inform you of one beauty
Though I'd ask you of a favor
Not to seek her for a while
Though I own she is a creature
Of character and feature
No words can paint the picture
of the Queen of all Argyll

CHORUS
And if you could have seen her there
Boys if you had just been there
The swan was in her movement
And the morning in her smile
All the roses in the garden
They bow and ask her pardon
For not one could match the beauty
Of the Queen of all Argyll

On that evening that I mention
I passed with light intention
Through a part of our dear country
Known for beauty and for style
In a place of noble thinkers
Of scholars and great drinkers
But above them all for splendor
Shone the Queen of all Argyll

So my lads my needs must leave you
My intention's nor to grieve you
Nor indeed would I deceive you
Oh I'll see you in a while
I must find some way to gain her
To court her and obtain her
I fear my heart's in danger
From the Queen of all Argyll

RODDY McCORLEY Top

O I see the host of fleet foot men, who march with faces wan,

From farmstead and from fishers' cot, along the banks of Ban;

They come with vengeance in their eyes. Both bright and sad are they,

For young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.

When last this narrow street he stepped, his shining pike in hand

Behind him marched, in grim array, a stalwart earnest band.

To Antrim town! To Antrim town, he led them to the fray,

Oh Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.

There's never a one of all your dead more bravely died in fray

Than he who marches to his fate on the bridge of Toome today;

True to the last! True to the last, he treads the upwards way,

Oh Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.

SANTIANO Top

CHORUS

Heave her up and away we’ll go, away Santiano

Heave her up and we’ll go, we’re bound for Californ-io

Have you heard the latest news

Away Santiano

The Yanks have taken Vera Cruz

All along the plains of Mexico

Sailing out of Liverpool

Away Santiano

The winds were up and the holds were full

We’re bound for Californio, So!

We’ve a mighty fine ship and a mighty fine crew

Away Santiano

And a mighty fine man for a captain too

We’re bound for Californio.

Santiano has ten thousand men

Away Santiano

Santiano has ten thousand

All along the plains of Mexico, So!

When I leave this ship I’ll settle down

Away Santiano

And marry a girl named Sally Brown

All along the plains of Mexico, So!

SCOLDING WIFE Top

Well I came into a scolding wife a few short years ago
And ever since I lead a life of misery and woe
My wife she is a tyrant around the house and inn
Ah I'd sell her to the devil for a glass or two of gin

Sure I'll get up and go to work as mild as any man
And she'll get up and dress herself and go and have her dram
And if I chance to say a word it's well I know my due
She'll chase me with the fire shovel up and down the room

CHORUS
And if the devil'd take her I'd thank him for his pain
I swear to God I'll hang meself if I get married again
And if the devil'd take her I'd thank him for his pain
Oh I swear to God I'll hang myself if I get married again

When I get up at breakfast time she'll tap me on the head
When I come home at lunch time I'll find her drunk in bed
When I come home at supper time at patience I must stop
'Cause she drinks what's in the teapot and I must drink the slop

Well once I asked me scolding wife if I could go to bed
She scarce gave me an hour on the pillow to lay me head
When like a roarin' lion she came bustin' down the door
She caught me by the middle and threw me naked on the floor

Now me and my companions go to a public place
She'll search around the neighbourhood until she finds my face
She'll hoist me up in ridicule before the company
Sayin' 'Petticoats is your master and forever more shall be'

SCOTSMAN Top

A Scotsman clad in kilt left the bar one evening fair

And one could tell by the way he walked he'd drunk more than his share

He staggered on until he could no longer keep his feet

Then stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street.

CHORUS

Ring ding diddle diddle i de o, ring di diddle i o

(repeat last line of verse)

Later on two young and lovely girls just happened by,

And one says to the other with a twinkle in her eye

You see yon sleeping Scotsman so young and handsome built

I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath their kilt.

They crept up to the sleeping Scotsman quiet as could be

Then lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see

And there behold for them to view beneath his Scottish skirt

Twas nothing but what God had graced him with upon his birth

They marveled for a moment then one said we'd best be gone

But let's leave a present for our friend before we move along

They took a blue silk ribbon and they tied it in a bow

Around the bonnie spar the Scot's lifted kilt did show

The Scotsman woke to nature's call and stumbled towards a tree

Behind a bush he lifts his kilt and gawks at what he sees

Then in a startled voice he says to what's before his eyes

He said, "Lad I don't know where you've been but I see you won

first prize"

SEVEN DRUNKEN NIGHTS Top

As I came home on a MONDAY night as drunk as drunk could be
I saw a horse outside the door where my old horse should be
Well, I called me wife and I said to her: