Irish traditional song lyrics — collected by Beer Belly Band.
Come Irish men both young and stern
With adventure in your soul
There are better ways to spend the day
Than working down a hole
Chorus:
I was tall and true all of six foot two
Till they broke me across the back
By a name I’m known and it’s not my own
And they call me crooked Jack
The ganger’s blue eyed pet was I
Bold Jack could do no wrong
And the reason simply was because
I could work hard hours and long
Chorus
I saw men old before their time
Their faces drawn and gray
I never thought so soon would mine
Be lined that self same way
Chorus
I cursed the day I went away
To work on the hydra dams
Our sweat and tears our hopes and fears
Bound up in shuttering jams
Chorus
They say that honest toil is good
For the spirit and the soul
But believe me boys it’s for sweat and blood
That they want you down the hole