Song Lyrics
O'DONNELL ABU
(The Clan Connell War Song — M.J.McAnn cir. 1843)
Proudly the note of the trumpet is sounding
Loudly the war cries arise on the gale
Fleetly the steed by Lough Swilly is bounding
To join the thick squadrons on Saimiers green vale!
On every mountaineer! Stranger to flight or fear!
Rush to the standard of dauntless Red Hugh!
Bonnaught and Gallowglass, throng from each mountain pass!
Onward for Erin! O'Donnell abu!
Princely O'Neill to our aid is advancing
With many a chieftain and warrior clan!
A thousand proud steeds in his vanguard are prancing
Neath the Borderers brave from the banks of the Bann!
Many a heart shall quail under its coat of mail,
Deeply the merciless foeman shall rue
When on his ear shall ring, borne on the breezes wing
Tyr Connell's dread war cry O'Donnell abu!
Wildly o'er Desmond the war wolf is howling
Fearless the eagle sweeps over the plain
The fox in the streets of the city is prowling
And all who would conquer them are banished, or slain!
On with O'Donnell then! Fight the good fight again!
Sons of Tyr Connell are valiant and true!
Make the proud Saxon feel Erin's avenging steel!
Strike! For your Country! O'Donnell abu!
OFF TO DUBLIN IN THE GREEN
(The Merry Ploughboy)
I am a merry ploughboy and I plough the fields all day
Till a sudden thought came to my mind, that I should roam away
For I'm sick and tried of slavery, since the day that I was born
And we're off to see the IRA and we're off tomorrow morn
Chorus:
And we're all off to Dublin in the green, in the green
Where the helmets glisten in the sun
Where the bayonets flash and the rifles crash
To the rattle of the Thompson gun
I'll leave aside my pick and spade, I'll leave aside my plough
I'll leave aside my horse and yoke, I no longer need them now
But I'll take my short revolver and my bandoleer all so
And with me comrades by my side, I'll face the foreign foe
Chorus
I'll leave aside my Mary, she's the girl that I adore
And I wonder will she think of me when she hears the rifles roar
And when the war is over and dear old Ireland's free
I'll take her to the church to wed and a rebel's wife she'll be
Chorus
Well some men fight for silver and some men fight for gold
But the IRA is fighting for the land that the Saxon's stole
Chorus
OFF TO PHILADELPHIA
Oh, me name is Paddy Leary from a spot in Tipperary
The hearts of all the girls I'm a thorn in
But come the break of mornin it is they who'll be forlorn
For I'm off to Philadelphia in the morning
Chorus:
With me bundle on me shoulder, faith, there's no man can be bolder
I'm leaving dare old Ireland without warning
For I lately took the notion for to cross the briny ocean
And I'm off to Philadelphia in the morning
There's a girl named Kate Malone sure I'd hope to call me own
To see my little cabin floor adornin
But my heart is sad and weary, how can she be Mrs. Leary
When I'm off to Philadelphia in the morning
When they told me I must leave the place I tried to wear a cheerful face
To show me hearts deep sorrow I was scornin
But the tears will surely blind me for the friends I leave behind me
When I'm off to Philadelphia in the morning
Chorus:
With me bundle on me shoulder sure there's no man can be bolder
I'm leaving just the spot that I was born in
But some day I'll take the notion to come back across that ocean
To me home in dear old Ireland in the morning
OLD DUNGARVAN OAK
(Frank Hennessy)
As I roved out one morning going to Dungarvan Fair
I spied a pretty maiden with the sunlight in her hair
Her way was so delightful her voice rang like a bell
And as I overtook her I asked if she was well
Chorus:
Lay down your woolen shawl me love I swear it is no joke
And I'll tell to you the story of the Old Dungarvan Oak
As we approached Dungarvan the girl at me did stare
And she asked me why I raised my hat to a tree so old and bare
I told her of the legend if the tree should e'er come down
There'd be a great disaster and Dungarvan would be drowned
Then she started laughing my face grew very red
And she said that only fools believed what those old legends said
Her laughter was contagious for the truth to you I'll tell
By the time I reached the market place I began to laugh as well
As I sit here by my fireside it's the autumn of my life
And the darling girl I met that day is now my darling wife
I have a lovely daughter And a son to push my yoke
And all because I raised my hat to the Old Dungarvan Oak
OLD MAID IN THE GARRET
I have often heard it said from me father and me mother,
That going to a wedding was the making of another.
Well if this be so, then I'll go without a bidding,
Oh kind providence won't you send me to a wedding.
Chorus:
For it's oh dear me, how will it be
If I die an old maid in the garret?
Oh now there's my sister Jean, she's not handsome or good looking'
Scarcely sixteen and a fella she was courting',
Now she's twenty four with a son and a daughter,
here am I forty-five, and I've never had an offer.
Chorus
I can cook and I can sew, I can keep the house right tidy,
Rise up in the morning and get the breakfast ready.
But there's nothing in this wide world would make me half so cheery
As a wee fat man who would call me his own dearie.
Chorus
Oh come landsman or come kinsman, come tinker or come tailor,
Come fiddler or come dancer, come ploughman or come sailor,
Come rich man come poor man, come fool or come witty,
Come any man at all who would marry me for pity
Chorus
Oh I'm away home for there's nobody heeding',
There's nobody heeding' for poor Annie's pleading',
And I'm away home to me own wee bit garret,
If I can't get a man than I'll surely get a parrot.
Chorus
THE OLD PUBS
(Johnny Handle)
When I was young, a pub was a pub
With mahogany tables and a sawdust floor
Nothing fancy but plain enough
But they don't build pubs like that no more
They're pulling them down, the old pubs
Around the town, the old pubs
And the plastic's a' the go
And the landlord kept his cellar well
With a pint both heavy and strong
It was a place to share your troubles, lads
A place for a bloody good song
They're pulling them down, the old pubs
Around the town, the old pubs
And the plastic's a' the go
And weddings, funerals, births an' all
The old pubs were the best
Good times, bad times, war and peace
The old pubs stood the test
They're pulling them down, the old pubs
Around the town, the old pubs
And the plastic's a' the go
But now I'm old and things have changed
The streets are flattened down
And the people in the pubs have gone like mist
Out to the edge of town
They're pulling them down, the old pubs
Around the town, the old pubs
And the plastic's a' the go
They're pulling them down, the old pubs
Around the town, the old pubs
And the plastic's a' the go
THE OLD TRIANGLE
(Brendan Behan)
Oh! a hungry feeling, it came o'er me stealing
And the mice they were squealing in my prison cell
And the ould triangle, went jingle jangle
All along the banks of the Royal Canal.
To begin the morning, the screw was bawling
Get up you bowsies and clean out your cell
And the ould triangle, went jingle jangle
All along the banks of the Royal Canal.
In the female prison there are seventy-five women
It's among them I wish I did dwell
And the ould triangle, went jingle jangle
All along the banks of the Royal Canal.
I wish to blazes they'd change the wages
from fifty shillings ah to two pounds ten.
Then the ould triangle, could go jingle jangle
All along the banks of the Royal Canal.
All along the banks of the Royal Canal.
THE OLD WOMEN FROM BELFAST
There was an ould woman in Belfast did dwell
Constipation was giving her hell
She went to the doctor cause she couldn't @*$#&
So he gave her a bottle to make her all right
With me nya nya toora lie ah
Oomph pa pa Oomph pa pa
Well that very night she went straight home to bed
Stood on her hands and she stood on her head
Now modesty wasn't a part of this lass
So she opened the windy and shoved out her ass
With me nya nya toora lie ah
Oomph pa pa Oomph pa pa
Now Constable Manally was doing his beat
Right at the corner of that very street
Gazing away at the stars in the sky
When a big lump of @*$#& hit him right in the eye
With me nya nya toora lie ah
Oomph pa pa Oomph pa pa
Now this chap Manally he cursed and he swore
He said taking your @*$#& you dirty ould whore
Down in the High Street you'll see him there sit
With a card round his neck saying blinded by @*$!#&
With me nya nya toora lie ah
Oomph pa pa Oomph pa pa
Well she @*$!#& all the night and she @*$!#& all the day
And they sent for the council to take it away
When the garbage men they said oh what of sight
The was mountains and mountains and mountains of @*$!#&
With me nya nya toora lie ah
Oomph pa pa Oomph pa pa
Now that is the end of this old Belfast farce
About the ould woman's undependable arse
So if ever your in Belfast especially at night
Don't mind the bullets watch for the @*$!#&
With me nya nya toora lie ah
ON THE DOLE
I've worked hard all my life I'll tell to you no lie
Down in the local dock yards as a man and boy
But now the bosses tell me they'll have to let me go
I'm just another number I'm signing on the dole
Chorus:
On the dole, on the dole, on the dole, on the dole
It's enough to break a poor fella's heart and soul
By the time we pay the rent ma'am, the grub, the gas, the coal
Sure there isn't much left over when you're signing on the dole
Oh Mary wants a new dress and Johnny needs new shoes
And to see little Charlie's bum sticking out sure gives me the blues
Some how we'll have to manage on a couple of bob
And hope some day for better things if I can get a job
Chorus
After mass on Sunday morning through the local for a jar
I've only got about four quid it won't go very far
Then it's home to dinner of bangers, beans and mash
We used to have the Sunday roast when we had the cash
Chorus
This thing they call recession when is it going to end
It's driving innocent people half way round the bend
They say that it will take three years but that seems far away
While we struggle on the make ends meet every other day
Chorus
Repeat Chorus
ON THE ONE ROAD
Chorus:
We're on the one road sharin' the one load
We're on the road to God knows where
We're on the one road it may be the wrong road
But we're together now who cares
North men south men comrades all
Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Donegal
We're one road singing along, singing the Soldier's Song
Though we've had our troubles now and then
Now is the time to make them up again
Sure aren't we all Irish anyhow
Now is the time to get together now
Chorus
Tinker, tailor, every mother son
Butcher, baker soldiering a gun
Rich man, poor man, every man in line
All together just like "Auld Lang Syne"
Chorus
Night is darkest just before the dawn
From dissension Ireland is reborn
Come on all ye untied Irish men
Now is the time to make a nation once again
Chorus
Chorus