The Irish Rover
In the year of our Lord, Eighteen Hundred and Six
We set sail from the sweet quay of Cork
We went sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the grand city hall in New York
'Twas a wonderful craft, she was rigged fore-and-aft
And oh, how the wild winds drove her.
She'd stood several blasts, she'd twenty-seven masts
And we called her the Irish Rover.
We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of stone
We had three million sides of old blind horses hides,
We had four million barrels of bone.
We had five million hogs, six million dogs,
Seven million barrels of porter.
We had eight million bails of old nanny goats' tails,
In the hold of the Irish Rover.
There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee,
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
There was Jimmy McGurk who was scared stiff of work
And a man from Westmeath called Malone
There was Slugger O'Toole who was drunk as a rule
And fighting Bill Tracey from Dover
And your man Mick McCann from the banks of the Bann
Was the skipper of the Irish Rover
There was 'ol Mickey Coote who played hard on his flute
And the ladies lined up for his set
He would tootle with skill for each sparkling quadrille
Though the dancers were fluttered and bet
With his sharp witty talk he was cock of the walk
He rolled the dames under and over
They all knew at a glance when he took up his stance
And he sailed in the Irish Rover
For a sailor its' always a bother in life
It's so lonesome by night and by day
That he longs for the shore
and a charming young whore
Who will melt all his troubles away
Oh, the noise and the rout
Swillin' poiteen and stout
For him soon the torment's over
Of the love of a maid he is never afraid
An old salt from the Irish Rover
We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out
And the ship lost it's way in a fog.
And that whale of the crew was reduced down to two,
Just myself and the captain's old dog.
Then the ship struck a rock, oh Lord what a shock
The bulkhead was knocked right over
We turned nine times around, and the poor dog was drowned
I'm the last of the Irish Rover