Irish traditional song lyrics — collected by Beer Belly Band.
Im the lad that likes the drink the truth Ill tell to you
But times are hard I canna work Im signin on the brew
Rikki too dum day too dum day rikki rikki too dum day
One night I went into tae a pub some whiskey for tae buy
There was a wee bird there sittin by the bar so I followed her by and by
Rikki too dum day too dum day rikki rikki too dum day
And as she came up tae her close she stopped to tie her shoe
In a real nice way I said to her, Hello, miss, how are you?
Rikki too dum day too dum day rikki rikki too dum day
She took one look at me and screamed, I nearly died wi fear
And the neighbors that came runnin doon, said ye canna do that near here
Rikki too dum day too dum day rikki rikki too dum day
And then her faither he came doon and he was twenty stane
He stood ma hied right aff the wall and the whiskey went doon the drain
Rikki too dum day too dum day rikki rikki too dum day
And then there cam a polisman, the lang arm o the law
He ga me another clout that nearly broke ma jaw
Rikki too dum day too dum day rikki rikki too dum day
Now all you lads thats here the night, shun the beer and whiskey
Or else youll get your hied bashed in, for drinkings oer risky
Rikki too dum day too dum day rikki rikki too dum day
Rikki too dum day too dum day rikki rikki too dum day
THE DUBLIN FUSILIERS
Well, you’ve heard about the Indians with their tommy-hawks and spears
And of the U.N. warriors the heroes of recent years
Also I might mention the British Grenadiers
But, none of them were in it with the Dublin Fusiliers
You’ve heard about the Light Brigade and of the deeds they’ve done
And of the other regiments that many vic’tries won
But the pride of all the armies, Dragoons and Carabineers
Was the noble band of warriorsThe Dublin Fusiliers
Chorus:
With your left turn, right about face–this is the way we go
Chargin’ with fixed bayonets, the terror of every foe
Glory to old Ireland’s proudest buccaneers
And a terror to creation areThe Dublin Fusiliers
You’ve heard about the wars between the Russians and the Brits
The Czar one day was readin’ an old copy of Tidbits
And when the General came to him and threw himself down in tears
“We’d better run back like blazes it’sThe Dublin Fusiliers
The Czar commenced to tremble and bit his upper lip
“Begorrah boys!” Sez he, “I think we’d better take a tip.
Them devils come to Dublin and to judge from what I hear,
They’re demons of militia menThe Dublin Fusiliers
Chorus
Well the sergeant cried, “Get ready lads, lay down each sword and gun,
Take off your shoes and stockings boys, and when I tell yous, run.”
They didn’t stop but started and amidst three ringing cheers
Came a shower of bricks and bullets fromThe Dublin Fusiliers
The time that Julius Caesar tried to land down at Ringsend
The Coastguards couldn’t stop ’em, so for the Dublins they did send
And just as they were landing, lads, we heard three ringin’ cheers
“Get back to Rome like blazes it’sThe Dublin Fusiliers
Chorus
DUBLIN IN MY TEARS
I traveled many lands, and I still can’t understand
How sad you have become on my return
Your poor heart is filled with care, sad and though they left you there
Your once bright eyes with sorrow softly burn
I can even sense the change in the sound of children’s games
Childhood’s dreams and youth’s ambitions have all turned to doubts and fears
It’s an age of wealth I’m told, but I never felt so old,
As recall old Dublin in my tears
All the faces that I meet as I rove each one way street
Reflect the empty statements of the times
And the old cathedral bell can’t be heard above the swell
For the years erase the message in her chimes
All my childhood friends are gone like the streets where we were born
And the time that it has taken it doesn’t seem so many years
They have faded in the gloom with sad Kelly of the Coome
Just a ghost of dear old Dublin in my tears
There were times when jobs were few, there were hungry days we knew
Some days so bad their memory I’ve cursed
And the prayer I said to God there on board the Prince’s MOD
That our children would restore the pride we lost
But the past they all forsake and they’re dancing at your wake
While the heart of Dublin’s dying and nobody really cares
And the fools as they pass by, laugh to see an old man cry
But I can’t forget old Dublin in my tears
Gather round brave men and true, though our numbers they be few
We’ll drink one toast before I cross the foam
For soon in London’s dark domain, I recall how I became
No more a stranger there than here at home
Now the Liffey flows along as I listen for her song
While the voice of young James Larkin seems to echo in my ear
But it’s just the rafter ring, to their requiem I sing
Farewell to dear old Dublin in my tears
Farewell to dear old Dublin in my tears
DUBLIN IN THE RARE OULD TIMES
Raised on songs and stories, heroes of renowned
The passing tales and glories that once was Dublin Town
The hallowed halls and houses, the haunting children’s rhymes
That once was Dublin City, in the rare ould times
Chorus:
Ring-a-ring-a-rosie as the light declines
I remember Dublin City in the rare ould times
Oh, my name it is Sean Dempsey, as Dublin as can be
Born hard and late in Pimlico in a house that ceased to be
By trade I was a cooper, lost out to redundancy
Like me house that fell to progress, my trade to memory
I courted Peggy Diegnan, as pretty as you please
Oh, a rogue and a child of Mary from the rebel Liberties
I lost her to a student chap, with skin as black as coal
When he took her off to Birmingham, she took away my soul
Chorus
The years have made me bitter, the gargle dims my brain
For Dublin keeps on changin’ and nothing stays the same
The Pillar and the Met are gone, the Royal long since pulled
As this gray unyielding concrete makes a city of our town
Chorus
Fare thee well sweet Anna Liffey, I can no longer stay
And watch the new glass cages that spring up along the Quay
My mind’s too full of memories, too old to hear new chimes
I’m part of what was Dublin, in the rare ould times
Chorus
Chorus
THE DUBLIN MINSTREL
From Dublin streets and roads and down the years
Came great musicians and balladeers
There was a special one, a red haired minstrel boy
And when he passed away, a city mourned its favorite son
Chorus:
All round the markets and down the quays
The sad news it spread to the Liberties
The minstrel boy is gone, he’ll sing no more
And Luke somehow we know, we’ll never see your likes again
He liked to laugh and sing he loved a jar
And his songs rang out in many city bars
I walk by the old canal near which he used to live
Down Raglan Road I’m sad, as he’d so much left to give
Chorus
Now the show is over, the curtain’s down
A flame no longer burns in Dublin Town
While the Liffey flows beneath the Ha’penny Bridge
You’ll be remembered Luke for all your songs and all you did
Chorus
THE DUBLIN RAMBLER
Chorus:
Oh, I come from around by Beggar’s Bush and they call me the Dublin rambler
Cause I’m never round for very long, sure, I’m always on the go
But there’s one thing that I love all right, is a pint with lads on a Sunday night
I once spent awhile in London, but soon came back to Dublin
Sang around the pubs in Liverpool, I wanted to come home
Did you ever stroll down Capel Street late on a summer’s morning
Drop into Slatt’s for a pint of stout, then on down to Quay
A carry-out to Kilmainham and back by the new Royal Hospital
While the T.D.’s in their new suits are often to be seen
Chorus
Have ever been to Dollymount and gazed out to the Ocean
Where the Bailey and the Hill of Hope are a wondrous sight to see
Take a ramble through St. Dan’s Estate and by fair _______ Gate
Watch the young lads playing football and climbing in the tree
Chorus
Well I often go to Stephens Green for a walk among the gardens
Or to kill an hour or two I’ll stop for a tune down Merrion Row
And the evening out on the town it’s the chipper for the one on one
With the T.D.’s in their evening suits, it’s not the place to go
Chorus
DUBLIN – TAKE ME
If you’re goin’ back to Dublin, take me
On a night like this there’s nowhere else I ‘d rather be
Just pick me up and carry me, across the Irish Sea
If you’re goin’ back to Dublin, take me
If I can’t make it, please take my regards
To Sweeny O’Donagh, my good friend down in Rathgar
Keep a clean nose for the customs man, and a big smile for the guards
If I can’t make it, please take me regards
Chorus:
Sunny days in the Wicklow Mountains, and music on Merrion Row
Rainy nights in the Gresham Hotel, oh Lord, I gotta, I gotta go
I’ll meet you under the arch in Trinity around about eight
And if it don’t rain I” be waiting outside of the gate
We can go to O’Neill’s and talk all night and tomorrow when heaven can wait
I’ll meet you under the arch in Trinity around about eight
Chorus
If you’re goin’ back to Dublin, take me
On a night like this there’s nowhere else I ‘d rather be
Just pick me up and carry me, across the Irish Sea
If you’re goin’ back to Dublin, take me
Chorus
If you’re goin’ back to Dublin, I said, if you’re goin’ back to Dublin
If you’re goin’ back to Dublin, take me, take me, take me
DUBLIN TOWN
Memories coming back to me of Dublin boyhood dreams
The friendly names and faces that I know
Now I’m high above the ocean in an emerald colored dream
Reliving all the days of long ago
Chorus:
So fly me home sweet wings of morning
Fly me home where my soul will ever be
In my heart I hear you calling
In my mind it’s my Dublin town I see
Me first communion money was a pocket full of dreams
In me brand new longers spent just like a man
Then my school boy days were over I was goin’ on thirteen
When I turned to stealing kisses in the Green
And I fished for the silver perch by lochs at Sally’s Bridge
Where the lazy dapple horses pulled the barge
Played relive-e-o and I boxed the fox and the darlin’ kick the can
They made the boy that makes the dream a man
Chorus:
So fly me home sweet wings of morning
Fly me home where my soul will ever be
In my heart I hear you calling
In my mind it’s my Dublin town I see
I’ll take a walk down Merchant’s Quay say a prayer for friends long gone
At the Brazen Head black porter prompts a song
Old melodies and ageless rhymes that echo o’er the swell
In harmony the lonely Angelus Bell
The happy sound of things I knew unchanging and unchanged
Dublin’s past and present in my soul
Simple dreams and gentle times that loving memory span
They made the boy that makes the dream a man
Chorus
Chorus
DUBLIN YOU LIVE IN MY HEART
I was havin’ a jar in O’Donoghue’s Bar
When it came to my mind I’d be better by far
If I’d something to do, so I signed on the brew
The roads o’er the water are waiting for tar
Chorus:
And it’s Dublin you’re breakin’ my heart
It’s the leavin’ that tears me apart
It’s good-bye to the Mot and the dear family too
To the lads that I ran with and fought as I grew
And the craic in the bars and the cronies I knew
Dublin you’re breakin’ my heart
I went down to the Quay and I boarded the boat
And I waved to the crowd with a lump in my throat
With no work in my trade, I’d to take up the spade
I’ve a living to make so I shouldered my coat
Chorus
I’ve toiled for the English and for Scots too
Took any old job that I though I could do
And each week from me pay, a few quid for the rain
And a few bob sent home just to help them get through
Chorus
Now the good days are over, the work is all done
There’s a lady in charge with a heart like a stone
When I ask for a start they say, ‘Can’t, have a heart’
‘There’s no work for our own, you’d be better at home’
Chorus
DUCKS OF MAGHERALIN
Oh it’s just a year ago today I went to see the Queen
She dressed me up in satin and its colour it was green
She decked me out in medals and they were all made of tin
Ah go home sez she you crooker yer the mayor of Magheralin
Chorus:
Oh it is the finest city in the real old fashion style
A credit to the County Down the pride of the Emerald Isle
It has the finest harbour for the bread carts to sail in
And if ever to sail to Ireland you’ll sail by Magheralin
Oh you’ve all heard of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte
He conquered half of Europe but left the other part
He tired to conquer Ireland but they would not give in
And he died in St. Helena when he thought of Magheralin
Chorus
Oh you’ve heard of Cleopatra the treasure of the Nile
And how she conquered Tony with one alluring smile
She tired to conquer Ireland but they would not give in
And they beat her out with cabbage leaves in the town of Magheralin
Chorus
Oh you’ve heard of good King William, King William crossed the Boyne
With a hundred thousand balls of wax and a thousand balls of twine
And then he gave the orders for the cobblers to begin
For to make a hundred pairs of boots for the ducks of Magheralin
Chorus
Oh you’ve heard of Mussolini that great Italian bum
And how his troops in Africa were always on the run
You’ve heard of Winston Churchill he always wore a grin
For he knew the Ulster rifles were all born in Magheralin
Chorus
DUMBARTONS DRUMS
Chorus:
Dumbartons drums they sound sae bonnnie
When they remind me of my Jeannie
Such fond delight can steal upon me
When Jeannie kneels and sings tae me
Across the hills o burnin heather
Dumbarton tolls the hour o pleasure
A song of love that has no measure
When Jeanne kneels and sings tae me
Chorus:
Dumbartons drums they sound sae bonnnie
When they remind me of my Jeannie
Such fond delight can steal upon me
When Jeannie kneels and sings tae me
Its she alone who can delight me
As gracefully she doth invite me
And when her tender arms enfold me
The blackest night can turn and flee
Chorus:
Dumbartons drums they sound sae bonnnie
When they remind me of my Jeannie
Such fond delight can steal upon me
When Jeannie kneels and sings tae me
When Jeanne kneels and sings tae me
When Jeanne kneels and kisses me
THE DUNDEE GHOST
Now a deid men seldom walks they very seldom talk
It’s no very often you see them runnin aroon
But I am a refugee frae a graveyard in Dundee
And I’ve come tae haunt Some hooses in Glesca toon
Noo the reason I arose was tae get masel some clothes
Fur it really gets hell o’ a cold below the grun (ground)
But then I whispered tae ma sel’ I think I might as well
Hang aroon fur a while and have some fun
A man put out his light on a cold and wintery night
I showed him one o’ ma ees (eyes) and a slapped his heid
He said Oh and I said Boo He said who the hell are you
A said don’t be feared am only a man that’s deid
Noo the fella knelt and prayed and this is what he said
Why in the name o’ God have you picked on me
So I pulled away his rug and slapped him wan on the lug
The reason fur that I’ll very soon let you see
When he brought the polis in I battered him wan on the chin
The polis turned aroon and he blamed ma fren (friend)
He marched him tae the jail, he’ll be in there quite a while
But I’ll see naboby steals his single end (a wee house)
The polis thought him daft and a lot o’ people laughed
When the fella said a ghost wis in his hoose
But whit the fella said wis true and a might be visiting you
Fur don’t forget that I’m still on the lose
THE DURHAM LOCK-OUT
In our Durham County I am sorry for to say,
That hunger and starvation is increasing every day;
For the want of food and coals we know not what to do,
But with your kind assistance we will stand the struggle through.
I need not state the reason why we have been brought so low,
The masters have behaved unkind, as everyone will know;
Because we won’t lie down and let them treat us as they like,
To punish us they’ve stopt their pits and caused the present strike.
The pully wheels have ceased to move, which went so swift around,
The horses and the ponies too are brought from underground;
Our work is taken from us now, they care not if we die,
For they can eat the best of food and drink the best when dry.
The miner and his marra too, each morning have to roam,
To seek for bread to feed the hungry little ones at home;
the flour barrel is empty now, their true and faithful friend,
Which makes the thousands whish today the strike was at an end.
We have done our very best as honest working men,
To let the pits commence again we’ve offered to them ten.
the offer they will not accept, they firmly do demand
Thirteen and a half per cent, or let the collieries stand.
Let them stand or let them lie, to do with them as they choose,
To give them thirteen and a half, we ever shall refuse,
They’re always willing to receive, but never inclined to give.
Very soon they won’t allow a working man to live.
(With tyranny and capital they never seem content,
Unless they are endeavoring to take from us per cent.
If it was due, what they request, we willingly would grant,
We know its not, therefore we cannot give them what they want)
The miners of Northumberland we shall for ever praise,
For being so kind in helping us those tyrannizing days;
We thank the other counties too, that have been doing the same,
For every man who hears this song will know we’re not to blame
.
–Tommy Armstrong, Source: Tommy Armstrong of Tyneside.,
DUSTIN’S HIACE VAN
Nineteen hundred and eighty nine was the year it all began
Dustin Hoffman, builder, bought a second-hand Hiace van
With the front seat as me saddle, and oil at my command
I set off like a cowboy in Dustin’s Hiace van
It might need a new gear box, it got broke along the way
You know on that new road, the one that leads to Bray
I can’t see out the winda, but I’m sure the view is very nice
Cause me vision is impaired by me big red furry dice
Chorus:
She’s got tires like Kojack’s head, me diesel’s always red
The steering’s gone, the brakes don’t work at all
But north, south, east and west I know I drive the best
Get off the road it’s Dustin’s Hiace van
Get off the road it’s Dustin’s Hiace van
On my way up to Galway, I got lost along the way
I ended up in Letrim, in a B&B I had to stay
The payment was in barter, ‘Can ye pay?’, I sez’, ‘I can’
I gave her a bit of the carpet from the back of me Hiace van
Now the Lone Ranger had his Silver, Sean Kelly had his bike
Tisach had his chopper, they can all have what they like
From Terrmafeca to Maynooth, horse and jockey to Forban
You’ll hear them shout, ‘Get off the road, it’s Dustin’s Hiace Van’
Chorus:
She’s got tires like Kojack’s head, me diesel’s always red
The steering’s gone, the brakes don’t work at all
But north, south, east and west I know I drive the best
Get off the road it’s Dustin’s Hiace van
Get off the road it’s Dustin’s Hiace van
THE DUTCHMAN
The Dutchman’s not the kind of man, to keep his thumb jammed in the dam
That holds his dreams in, but that’s the secret only Margaret knows
When Amsterdam is golden in the morning Margaret brings him breakfast
She believes him, he thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow
He’s mad as he can be, but Margaret only sees that sometimes
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes
Chorus:
Let us go to the banks of ocean,
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee
Long ago I used to be a young man,
And dear Margaret remembers that for me
The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes, his cap and coat are patched with love
That Margaret sowed in, sometimes he thinks he’s still in Rotterdam
He watches tugboats down canals and calls out to them,
When he thinks he knows the Captain
Till Margaret comes to take him home again, through unforgiving streets
That trip him though she holds his arm
Sometimes he thinks that he’s alone and calls her name
Chorus
The windmills whirl the winter in, she winds his muffler tighter
They sit in the kitchen, some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew
He sees her for a moment, calls her name she makes his bed up
Humming some old love song, she learned when the tune was very new
He hums a line or two, they hum together in the night
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out
Chorus
DANNY FARRELL
I knew Danny Farrell when his football was a can
With his hand-me-downs and welliers and his sandwiches of bran
But now that pavement peasant is a full-grown bitter man
With all the trials and troubles of his traveling people’s clan
Chorus:
He’s a loser, a boozer, a me and you user
A raider, a trader, a people, police hater
So lonely and only, what you’d call a gurrier
Still now, Danny Farrell, he’s a man
I knew Danny Farrell when he joined the National School
He was lousy and a Gaelic, they’d call him amadán and fool
He was brilliant in the toss school by trading objects in the Pawn
By the time he was an adult all his charming ways had gone
Chorus
I knew Danny Farrell when we queued up for the dole
And he tried to hide the loss of pride that eats away the soul
But mending pots and kettles is a trade lost in the past
“There’s no hand-out here for tinkers” was the answer when he asked
Chorus
Oh, I still know Danny Farrell, saw him just there yesterday
Taking mentholated spirits with some wino’s on the Quay
Oh, he’s forty going on eighty, with his eyes of hope bereft
And he told me this for certain, there’s not many of us left
Chorus
DARBY O’LEARY
One evening of late as I happened to stray
To the County Tipperary I straight took my way
To dig the potatoes and work by the day
For a farmer called Darby O’Leary.
I asked him how far we were bound for to go
The night being dark and the cold wind did blow
I was hungry and tired and my spirits were low for
I got neither whiskey nor water.
The dirty old miser he mounted his steed
To the Galbally mountains he rode in great speed
I followed behind ’til my poor feet did bleed when
We stopped when his old horse was weary.
When we came to his cottage I entered it first
It seemed like a kennel or a ruined old church
Says I to myself I am left in the lurch
In the house of old Darby O’Leary
I well recollect it was Michalmass night
To a hearty supper he did me invite
A cup of sour milk that was more green than white
And it gave me the trotting disorder
The wet old potatoes would poison the cats
And the barn where my bed was swarming with rats
The fleas would have frightened the fearless St. Pat
Who banished the snakes o’er the border.
He worked me by day and he worked me by night,
While he held an old candle to give me some light
I wished his potatoes would die of the blight
Or himself would go off with the fairies.
It was on this old miser I looked with a frown
When the straw was brought in for to make my shakedown
And I wished I had never seen him nor his town
Nor the sky above Darby O’Leary.
I’ve worked in Kilconnel, I’ve worked in Killmore
I worked in Knoockannie and Shamballamore
In Kalisanaker and Sollahed Moore
With farmers so decent and cheery.
I’ve worked in Tipperary, the Rag and Ross Green
At the mount of Killfegal, the Bridge of Orleans
But such woeful starvation I never yet seen
As I got from old Darby O’Leary
DARK LOCHNAGAR
Away, ye gay landscapes, ye gardens of roses,
In you let the minions of luxury rove,
Restore me the rocks where the snow-flake reposes,
Though still they are sacred to freedom and love.
Yet Caledonia, belov’d are thy mountains,
Round their white summits the elements war
Though cataracts foam ‘stead of smooth-flowing fountains,
I sigh for the valley of dark Lochnagar.
Ah! there my young footsteps in infancy wander’d,
My cap was the bonnet, my cloak was my plaid.
On chieftains long perish’d my memory ponder’d
As daily I strode thro’ the pine cover’d glade.
I sought not my home till the day’s dying glory
Gave place to the rays of the bright Polar star.
For fancy was cheer’d by traditional story,
Disclos’d by the natives of dark Lochnagar!
Years have roll’d on, Lochnagar, since I left you!
Years must elapse ere I tread you again.
Though nature of verdure and flow’rs has bereft you,
Yet still are you dearer than Albion’s plain.
England, thy beauties are tame and domestic
To one who has roamed over mountains afar
Oh! for the crags that are wild and majestic,
The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar.
THE D-DAY DODGERS
We’re the D-Day Dodgers, way out in Italy
Always on the vino, always on the spree;
Eighth Army scroungers and their tanks,
We live in Rome, among the Yanks.
We are the D-Day Dodgers, way out in Italy;
We are the D-Day Dodgers, way out in Italy.
We landed in Salerno, a holiday with pay,
The Jerries brought the bands out to greet us on the way.
Showed us the sights and gave us tea,
We all sang songs, the beer was free
To welcome D-Day Dodgers to sunny Italy.
To welcome D-Day Dodgers to sunny Italy.
Naples and Casino were taken in our stride,
We didn’t go to fight there, we went just for the ride.
Anzio and Sangro were just names,
We only went to look for dames
The artful D-Day Dodgers, way out in Italy.
The artful D-Day Dodgers, way out in Italy.
Dear Lady Astor, you think you’re mighty hot,
Standing on the platform, talking tommyrot.
You’re England’s sweetheart and her pride
We think your mouth’s too bleeding wide.
We are the D-Day Dodgers, in sunny Italy.
We are the D-Day Dodgers, in sunny Italy.
Look around the mountains, in the mud and rain,
You’ll find the scattered crosses, some that have no name.
Heartbreak and toil and suffering gone,
The boys beneath them slumber on.
They are the D-Day Dodgers who stay in Italy.
They are the D-Day Dodgers who stay in Italy.
THE DEATH OF THE BEAR
The balalaika rings silent from Minsk to Red Square the cortege assembles to bury the bear
Nadia Rostropovich looks on in despair with Irina, Katrina, and Olga
And quietly remembering her brother Ivan shot in the back in Afghanistan
The Stalinist purges, the snowy white grave that claimed Boris, Dimitri and Igor
She remembered how proud she cheered with the crowd when Juri Gagarin sailed over the clouds
Nadja and Ivan shouted aloud we’ve put the first man in space
But that was before the feared KGB put a question mark over her own loyalty
To keep an eye on her comrades, one, two and three, Irina, Katrina and Olga
And poor uncle Vlad whom the doc declared mad for refusing to leave his beloved Leningrad
She stood in the doorway tearful and sad when they frog marched him off to the gulag
He took a last look at his own native hills where grew the red dogwood and wild daffodils
The look on his face is haunting her still Comrade Nadia Rostropovich
Sometimes alone she’d think of the west the ladies with opals adorning their breast
Park Avenue posers who behave like the czar with silver coke spoons for their caviar
She’d reflect back to when she’d just turned ten and fatefully subscribed to fair play for all men
But seventy odd years of Bolshevik dreams had worn down her pride and left her no means
To cope with her own disillusions
If Trotsky and Engels saw the Dachau’s and Zills the Politburo boys with their hands in the till
The bear was long dead before he got ill was it the cure or was it the fever?
No more Reds under beds to freak out the Feds a defunct superpower in tatters and shreds
The marks left by Karl leaves them queuing for bread in the Caucasus, Baltics and Urals
DEATH COME EASY
Death come easy if you come before your time
Death come easy to a young man in his prime
They put a gun in my hand
Said, Fight for the freedom of your land
Death come easy to a young man in his prime
Life was easy I could want for nothing more
Life was easy then there came the call for war
I left my family left my home
With the army I was forced to roam
Life was easy then there came the call for war
Love was easy with my lady I would stay
Love was easy then the war took me away
Forget your love war is right
So they taught me how to kill and fight
Love was easy then the war took me away
Killing’s easy with a weapon in your hand
Killing’s easy and they say that war is grand
With their music and their drums
They don’t see the slaughter of the guns
Killing’s easy and they say that war is grand
Death come easy if you come before your time
Death come easy to a young man in his prime
They put a gun in my hand
Said, Fight for the freedom of your land
Death come easy to a young man in his prime
DEID FISH AND DIESEL
For years upon the mainland I was working like a dog
Till I took a sudden notion for the peat reek and the bog
I put my finest trousers on, a brand new pair of shoes
And with my mate, Big Sandy Tait, we headed north for Lewis
Chorus:
Deid fish and diesel it’ll take your breath away
You can tell yersel by the fine like smell you’re back in Stornoway
The bus from Inversnecky was a wonderful affair
The driver wore dark glasses with a white stick by his chair
He had a little microphone to tell us where we’d been
And he took us by a shortcut through Kintail and Achnasheen
Chorus
We wander round the Highlands for seven days or more
Until by chance we came upon the junction at Braemore
Big Sandy grab the driver, he said, “Here’s the golden rule,
Turn right tonight if you want a fight, but it’s left for Ullapool.”
Chorus
We safetly reached the ferry with little time to spare
You could sense that old familiar feeling hanging in the air
The purser checked the day release we got from Creag Dunain
And we headed off across the Minch as captives of of MacBrayne
Chorus
It wasn’t long before we hit the pier at Stornoway
The same old seagull sitting there as when we went away
The grass upon the rooftops and a prayer to save your soul
And the BICC overdraft to keep you on the dole
Chorus
DELIRIUM TREMENS (THE D.T.’S)
Chorus:
Good-bye to the port and brandy, to Vodka and the Stag
The Smittick and the Harpick, the bottle draught and keg
As I sat looking up at the Guinness ad I could never figure out
How you man stayed up on the surfboard after fourteen pints of stout
I dreamt a dream the other night, I couldn’t sleep a wink
The rats were trying to count sheep, I was trying to get off of the drink
There was footsteps in the parlor and voices on the stairs
I was moving round walls and climbing up the chairs
Suddenly it dawned on me I was getting the old D.T.’s
When the child of Prague began to dance around the mantel piece
Chorus
I swore upon the bible, I’d never touch a drop,
Me heart was palpitating, I was sure I was goin’ to stop
I fell into an awful nightmare and I got a dreadful shock
When I dreamt there was no duty free at the airport down in Knock
Ian Paisley was sayin’ the rosary, S.P.U.C. were on the pill
Frank Patterson was gargled and singin’ Spancil Hill
Chorus
I dreamt of original sins and venial sins and mortal sins by score
Then I tied barbed wire to my underpants and flagellated myself on the floor
Then I dreamed I was in the confession and the oul’ Bishop he says to me,
‘Any impure thoughts my son,’ The barbed wire was killin’ me
Chorus
I dreamt of Nell McCafferty and Mary Kenny, too
The things that we got up to, but I’m not goin’ to tell you
I dreamt I was in a Jacuzzi with that oul’ whore from number ten
Then I knew I’d never, ever, ever drink again
Chorus
THE DEPTH OF MY EGO
Chorus:
Deep in my heart and deep mind, deep in the depth of my ego
Deep in my breast, lies a treasure chest, a world that only I can know
You may criticize me, try to analyze me, put me in your little pigeon hole
I’ll still hold the key to place where I am free a world that only I control
Chorus:
Deep in my heart and deep mind, deep in the depth of my ego
Deep in my breast, lies a treasure chest, a world that only I can know
I can love you dearly I can love you true
I can love you long and love you well
But I must have my own song only I can sing
My own tale that only I can tell
Chorus:
Deep in my heart and deep mind, deep in the depth of my ego
Deep in my breast, lies a treasure chest, a world that only I can know
Place me in your prison put me in your cell
Lock me up and throw away the key
I will only wander wander all around
This big world that’s inside me
Chorus:
Deep in my heart and deep mind, deep in the depth of my ego
Deep in my breast, lies a treasure chest, a world that only I can know
DESTINATION O’DONOGHUE’S
I’ve a tener in my pocket, it’s nearly half past five,
Down the Naven Road and hop upon the bus
Into City Centre and go from pub to pub.
It’s Friday night in Dublin once again
We’ll start off at Capel Street, some pints at Slattery’s,
Then move down to the Cooper’s for a jar
Cross the River Liffey and around by Trinity.
Are you certain that this next round is on me
Chorus:
Ring-a-ring-rosie and Too-ra-loo-ra loo Destination O’Donoghue’s
Ring-a-ring-rosie and Too-ra-loo-ra loo will we ever reach O’Donoghue’s
Now we’ve hit Grafton Street, we’re headin’ for Keogh’s,
Renowned for the women and the crack
And if the saints are with us, courage compliments of Guinness
In the arms of some young one, or by barred
Well the crack it was mighty, but the barman threw us out
So it’s just around the corner to McDaids
The favorite spot of Brendan Behan, so down the road a singin’
The Ould Triangle and Biddy Mulligan
Chorus
McDaids was quiet and the drink was very dear
So just one pint and then we’re on our way
But Martin met these girls, these Tipperary girls
Now we’re buying gin and tonics for the lot
We’re on the scared mission get the holy water in ’em
Get them paralytic drunk till they can’t stand
Hold the tonic, double gins, by the time the evening ends
We’ll be indulging in the seven deadly sins
Chorus
They’re lashin’ back the liquor, our money’s goin’ quicker
Till every pound between us it is spent
Our last quid right out the door, Martin’s past out on the floor
Now they’re chattin’ up some brothers from Mayo
No money in my pocket, it’s nearly half past twelve
In the freezin’ cold I’ve got a long, long walk
Back to the Naven Road, for a week I’ll take it slow
Till it’s Friday night in Dublin once again.
Final Chorus:
Ring-a-ring-rosie and Too-ra-loo-ra loo Destination O’Donoghue’s
Ring-a-ring-rosie and Too-ra-loo-ra loo, we never reached O’Donoghue’s
But next week we’ll make O’Donoghue’s
Danny Boy
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 flowers are dying
’tis you, ’tis you must go and I must bide.
But come you 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.
And if you come, when all the flowers are dying
And I am dead, as dead I well may 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 dreams will warm and sweeter be
If you’ll not fail to tell me that you love me
I simply sleep in peace until you come to me.