Irish Song Lyrics & More!

Walk The Plank..............the second cd in the double album.

ALL FOR MY GROG
CHORUS:
And it's all for my grog, my jolly, jolly grog.
It's all for my rum and tobacco.
I spent all my tin with the lassies drinkin gin
And across the western ocean I must wander

Now where is my shirt, my nobbin', nobbin' shirt,
It's all gone for beer and tobacco.
For the sleeves are near wore out and the collar's flying about
and the tail's looking out for better weather.

And where are my pants, my nobbin', nobbin' pants.
They're all gone for beer and tobacco.
For knees are near wore out and the seat is flying about
And the fly is looking out for better weather.

And where are my boots, my nobbin', nobbin' boots?
They've all gone for beer and tobacco.
For the soles are near wore out and the toes are flying about
And the heels are looking out for better weather.

And where is my hat, my nobbin', nobbin' hat?
It's all gone for beer and tobacco.
For the crown is near wore out and the brim is flying about,
And the lining's looking out for better weather.

And, where is my bed, my nobbin', nobbin' bed?
It's all gone for beer and tobacco.
For I lent it to a whore, now the mattress is all wore
And the springs are looking out for better weather.

Now I'm sick in the head and I haven't been to bed
since I came ashore with my plunder
I'm seeing centipedes and snakes, and I'm full of pains and aches
And I think I'll make a pact for way out yonder.

BARRETT'S PRIVATEERS...(Stan Rogers):
Oh, the year was 1778..... (I wish I was in Sherbrook now)
A Letter of Marque came from the king,
to the scummiest vessel I've ever seen.....

Chorus:
God Damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American Gold,
We'd fire no guns - shed no tears,
I'm a broken man on the Hallifax pier,
The last of Barrett's Privateers.

O Elcid Barrett cried to the town (I wish I was in Sherbrook now)
For twenty brave men all fishermen who
Would make for him the Antelope's crew.....

The Antelope she was a sickening site (I wish I was in Sherbrook now)
She'd a list to the port with her sails in rags
And the cook in the scuppers with the staggers and jags......

On the King's birthday we sailed away (I wish I was in Sherbrook now)
We were 91 days to Montego Bay
we pumping like mad men all the way.......

On the 93rd day we sailed again (I wish I was in Sherbrook now)
When a bloody great Yankee hove in sight
With our cracked four pounders we made to fight........

The Yankee she lay low with gold (I wish I was in Sherbrook now)
She was broad & fat & loose in the stays,
but to catch her took the Antelope two whole days.........

Then at length we stood two cables away (I wish I was in Sherbrook now)
Our cracked four pounders made an awful din
With her very first shot the Yank stove us in........

The Antelope she pitched on her side (I wish I was in Sherbrook now)
Barrett was smashed like a bowl of eggs
The main truck took away both my legs........

So her I am in my 23rd year (I wish I was in Sherbrook, now)
It's six long years since we sailed away
And we only reached Hallifax yesterday........

THE BOLD PRINCESS ROYAL:
The Princess Royal was an English ship that was quite famous for her exploits
against enemy (read that pirate) ships. She really was quite a fighter but in this
song she is portrayed as staying alive by running away. I can only assume the
writer of this song either did not like the ship or the English.

On the 14th of April, we sailed down the strand,
On the bold Princess Royal bound for Newfoundland.
We had 20 brave sailor boys in the ships company
And eastward and westward right boldly sailed we.
We'd only been sailing for days twa and three
When the man at the masthead a sail he did see.
She came right down on us, right onward she bore.
And under her mizzen peak, dark colours she wore.

"Oh No!" cried the captain, "Now what shall we do?
"Here comes a bold pirate and he'll make us heave to."
"Oh NO," cried the chief mate, "That shall not be so.
For we'll shake out our reefs, boys, and from him we'll go."

And when that bold pirate came up along side.
With loud speaking trumpet, "Whence come you," he cried.
The chief mate ran aft and did answer him so,
"We come from the free land bound for New Calio."
"Then let go your lee braces and heave your ship to.
For I have got letters to send there with you."

"We will let go our lee braces and heave out ship to.
Inside of some safe harbour, not along side of you."
Then we let go our reefs boys and they hung to go.
We let go our topgallant sails and they did also.
He fired one shot after us, in hopes to prevail.
But the Bold Princess Royal soon showed him her tail.

He chaseded us and he chased-ed us throughout the long day.
He chased-ed us and he chased-ed us , but he could not no way.
He chased-ed us and he chased-ed us till night made him fail,
Then he rolled up his mizzen and straight bore away.

"Hurray!" cried the captain, "The priate has gone.
Go down to your grog boys, go down everyone.
Go down to your grog boys, and be of good cheer.
For while we have serum, brave boys never fear."

BOTANY BAY:
I was on my way down to the quay, where the good ship Hildreth lay,
To command a band of Navvies there, I was ordered to engage.
Of course I did stop in for a drink, before I sailed away.
For to take a trip on an immigrant ship to the shores of Botany Bay.

CHORUS:
So farewell to your bricks and mortar, Farewell to you dirty lime.
Farewell to your gangers and your gang planks
and to Hell with your overtime.
For the good ship Ragamuffin she's a ly'n at the quay
For to take old Pat with his shovel on his back to the shores of Botany Bay.

Now the best years of our lives were spent, we were working on the docks.
Building mighty walls and quays from earth and ballast rock.
And pensions keep our jobs secure but I shant rue the day
That I take a trip on an immigrant ship for the shores of Botany Bay.

Now the boss came up this morning, and he said. "Why Pat., Hello.
Now, be sure and mix that mortar quick or for sure you'll have to go.
Of course he did insult me and I demanded all my pay
And I told him straight I was going to immigrate to the shores of Botany Bay.

And when I reach Australia, I'll go and search for gold
There's plenty there for digging up, or so I have been told.
Or maybe I'll go back to my trade, 800 bricks I'll lay
In an eight hour shift for an eight bob pay on the shores of Botany Bay.

CHICK'N ON A RAFT: (Creamed chicken on toast)
Skipper's in the wardroom drinkin' gin
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
I hear him knockin' but he ain't com'n' in
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft

First Mate's laughin' like it'ud rain
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
He's been lookin' at the comic cuts again
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft

Chorus
Chicken on a Raft on a Monday morning
Oh, what a terrible sight to see.
Dabtoes forward and the dustmen aft
Sittin' and pickin' at Chicken on a raft.
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
High, ho, Chicken on a Raft
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
Just sittin' and pickin' at Chicken on a raft.

Had me a girl in Donny Be
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
Did she make a fool of me
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
Her heart was like a purser's shower
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
From hot to cold in a quarter of an hour
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft

CHORUS

We kissed good night on the midnight bus
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
She didn't cry and she didn't fuss
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
Am I the man that she loves best?
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft
Or am I a cookoo in another man's nest?
Hey, ho, Chicken on a Raft

Chorus...

HAUL AWAY JOE.........Drkn Slr:
This is an example of a "short haul" chanty from the days of sailing. This song would be sung
when the sailors had to take up only a few inches of line that was under great stress,
such as when trimming the main sheet. The chanty singer would sing the song while
the sailors rested and everyone would give one monumental heave on the final "Joe" of
each stanza. The chanty singer would make the song last as long as was necessary to
get the job done making up verses as he went along.

When I was a little boy, so my mother told me, to me.
Way, Haul Away, we'll haul away, "Joe."
That if I did not kiss the girls my lips would all grow moldy, to me,
Way, Haul Away, we'll'' haul away, "Joe."

CHORUS:
Sing Way, Haul Away. We're bound for better weather, to me,
Way, Haul Away, we'll haul away, "Joe."

St. Patrick was a gentleman, he came from decent people, to me
In Dublin town, he built a church and on it put a steeple, to me.

King Louie was the king of France before the revolution
Then he got his head cut off, it spoiled his constitution.

First I met a Yankee girl, she was fat and lazy, to me,
Then I met an Irish girl, she damn near drove me crazy, to me.............

........DRUNKEN SAILOR....
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning?

VERSE:
Shave his belly with a rusty razor. Shave his belly with a rusty razor.
Shave his belly with a rusty razor. Early in the morning.

Way, Hey, Up she rises, Hooray, Up she rises.
Way, Hey, Up she rises, early in the morning.

VERSES ON THE TAPE:
1. Put him in command of a SUPERTANKER.
2. Hang from the yardarm 'till he's sober.
3. Put him into bed with the Captain's daughter (You haven't seen the Captain's daughter).
SOME OTHER VERSES
1. Put him in the longboat, 'till he's sober.
2. Keel haul him 'till he's sober.
3. Put him in the crow's nest when it's stormy.
4. Put him in the galley peeling praties.
5. Send him aloft to reef the tops'l
6. Give him a taste of the cat-o-nine tails
7. Turn him to, shining brightwork. etc. etc. etc.

EDDYSTONE LIGHT:
My father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light
and he slept with a mermaid one fine night
from this union there came three
two little fishes and the other was me.

Chorus:
Yo - Ho - Ho, the winds blow free
Oh, for the life on the rolling sea.

One night as I was a-trimmin' off the glim,
and a-singing a verse of the evening hymm
A voice from the starboard shouted "Ahoy"
And there was my mother sittin on a bouy.

Chorus:

Oh, what has become of my children three?
My mother then she said to me.
"One was exhibited as a talking fish
and the other was served on a chafing dish."

Chorus:

Then the phosphorus flashed in her seaweed hair
I looked again and mother wasn't there.
But a voice came echoing through the night
"To hell with the keeper of the Eddystone Light".

Chorus:

THE HOLY GROUND:
Fare thee well, my lovely Dina, A thousand times adieu.
For we're goin' away from the Holy Gound and the girls we all love true
We will sail the salt sea over, and we'll return for shore.
To see again the girls we love and the Holy Ground once more.

CHORUS
You're the girl I do adore
And still I live in hopes to see,
the Holy Ground once more. (Fine Girl You Are)

And now the storm is raging and we are far from shore,
And the good old ship is a tossing about and the rigging is all tore
And the secret of my mind, my love, you're the girl I do adore,
And still I live in hopes to see the Holy Ground once more.

CHORUS

And now the storm is over and we are safe and well
We will go into a public house and we'll sit and drink our fill
We will drink strong ale and porter and we'll make the rafters roar,
And when our money is all all spent, we will go to sea once more.

CHORUS

HOME BOYS HOME:
I knew a servant-maid down in Drury Lane.
The master he was good to her, the mistress was the same;
Till one night a sailor-lad chanced there for to stay,
And that was the beginning of my true love and me.

Chorus;
For it's home, boys, home, (clap, clap)
It's home I'd like to be;
Home for awhile in my own counter-ee,
Where the oak, the ash, and the bonny Rowan tree
They all are growing free in my own counter-ee

Chorus; .

I asked her for a candle to light my way to bed,
And likewise for a handkerchief to wrap around my head;
To wrap round my head as I used to do
And I said: 'My pretty Polly, won't you come to bed too?'

Chorus; .

Early next morning, the sailor he arose,
And into her bosom throws a handful of gold;
Saying; 'This I will give you, and more I shall do,
If you will be my true love wherever I go.

Chorus; .

Now if you had a daughter, call her after me,
And if you have son you can send him off to sea
With his bell-bottomed trousers and jacket of true-blue,
And he will climb the rigging like his daddy used to do.

Chorus; .

THE IRISH ROVER:
In the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and six,
we set sail from the Coal Quay of Cork,
we were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
for the grand city hall in New York.
We'd an elegant craft-She was rigged fore and aft
and how the trade winds drove her.
She had twenty three masts and she stood several blasts
And we called her the Irish Rover

There was Barney Magee from the banks of the Lee
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
There was Roddy O'Gork who was scared stiff of work
And a chap from Westmeath named Malone
There was Slugger O'Toole who was drunk as a rule
Fighting Bill Tracy from Dover
And your man Mick McCann from the banks of the Bann
Was the skipper of the Irish Rover.

We had one million bails of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of pone
We had three million bales of old nanny goats' tails
We had four million barrels of stone
We had five million hogs and six million dogs
Seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million sides of old tanned horses hides
In the hold of the Irish Rover.

We had sailed seven years, when the measles broke out
And the ship lost her way in the fog
And that whale of a crew was reduced down to two.
'Twas myself and the skipper's old dog
Then the ship struck a rock. O Lord what a shock
Nearly tumbled over - she turned nine times around
And the poor old dog was drowned. (Audience:Sad dog sounds)
I'm the last of the Irish Rover.

THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL:
Farewell to you, my own true love. I am going far away.
I am bound for Ca-li-for-ni-a, but I know that I'll return someday.

CHORUS:
So fare you well my own true love, & when I return, united we will be.
It's not the leaving of Liverpool that grieves me,
but, my darling, when I think of thee

I'm off to California & Cape Horne we'll soon pass round
& I will send a letter love , when I am homeward bound

I have shipped on a Yankee sailing ship, Davy Crockett is her name
& Burgess is the captain of her & I hear she is a floating hell.

I'm bound away to leave you girl. Goodbye, my love, goodbye
Oh there's but one thing that grieves me- that's leaving you behind

Oh the sun is on the harbor, love - I wish I could remain.
For I know that it will be some long time before I see you again.

THE MERMAID:
It was Friday morn when we set sail and we were not far from the land
Our captain he spied a mermaid so fair with a comb and a glass in her hand

CHORUS:
And the ocean waves do roll
And the stormy winds do blow
And we poor sailors skippin at the top
While the landlubbers lie down below,below, below,
While the landlubbers lie down below.

Then up spoke the captain of our gallant ship, And a fine spoken man was he
This fishy mermaid has warned me of our doom, we shall sink to the bottom of the sea.

Chorus

Then up spoke the mate of our gallant ship, And a grand old fellow was he
Saying, I have a wife in Dublin by the sea, And tonight a widow she will be

Chorus

Then up spoke the cook of our gallant ship, And a fine old butcher was he
I care much more for my pots and pans than I do for the bottom of the sea.

Chorus

Then up spoke the cabin boy of our gallant ship, And a fine young man was he
I have a sweetheart in Belfast by the sea, and tonight she''ll be weeping for me.

Chorus

Then three times round went our gallant ship And three times round went she
And the third time that she went around, she sank to the bottom of the sea.

Chorus

PADDY LAY BACK:
Once there was a great demand for sailors.... sailors (audience response)
for the colonies, for Frisco and for France..... and for France
So I shipped aboard a Limey barqe, the "Hotspur".... the "Hotspur"
I got paralytic drunk on my advance..... vance, vance

CHORUS:
Sing Paddy Lay Back..... Paddy Lay Back
Take in the slack..... Take in the slack
Take a turn around the capstain, heave aboard.
All about ship's station boy's be handy.... be handy
......We're bound for Valapariso 'round the horn. (Sing this line in unison)

It was a cold and frosty morning in December,
December And all of my money it was spent...it was spent
Where it went to I do not remember,... remember
So I down to the shipping office went.... went, went

It was on the quarter deck that I first saw 'rum.... saw-rum
Such an ugly bunch you'd never seen before seen before...seen before
For the skipper had shipped a shanghaied group of Russians.... of Russians
He made me kick them aft all stiff and sore. .....sore, sore.

Well some of the other sailor's had been drinking..... drinking
And I myself was heavy on the booze..... on the booze
So I sat upon my seachest a thinking..... a thinking
Then fell into my bunk to take a snooze..... snooze, snooze

I asked the mate o' which a watch was mine-O..... mine-O
He said to me, "I'll you which is which.".... which is which
Then he blew me down and kicked my by the stern-O...... the stern-O
Called me a dirty lousy son-of-a-bitch..... bitch, bitch

I made my mind up then that I would jump her...... jump her
Leave the bugger and get a job ashore..... job a shore
So I swam accross the bay and went and left her.... left her
And in an English bar I found a whore......whore, whore

THE UNICORN: (The Original Seasong).........
A long time ago when the earth was green
There were more kinds of animals than you've ever seen
They would run around free while the earth was being born
And the loveliest of all was the Unicorn.

Chorus:
There were green alligators and long necked geese,
some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees,
some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born,
the loveliest of all was the Unicorn.

Now God seen some sinnin and it gave him pain,
He said "Stand back. I'm going to make it rain"
He said "Hey, Brother Noah, I'll tell you what to do -
Build me a floating zoo!"

And there were green alligators and long necked geese,
some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees,
some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born,
don't you forget my Unicorns.

Old Noah was there to answer the call,
he finished up building the ark just as the rain started falling,
he marched in the animals two by two,
and he called out as they went through.

Oh, Lord, I've got your green alligators and long necked geese,
your humpty-backed camels and your chimpanzees,
your cats and rats and elephants, but Lord I'm so forlorn ,
I just dont see no Unicorns.

Noah looked out through the driving rain,
them Unicorns were hiding, playing silly games.
Kicking & splashin as the rain was pourin -
Oh, them silly Unicorns.

There was green alligators and long necked geese,
some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees,
Noah cried "close the door - the rain is pourin -
we just can't wait for no Unicorns".

The ark started movin, it drifted with the tide
the Unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried.
The waters came down and sort of floated them away
and that's why you'll never see a unicorn to this very day.

You'll see green alligators and long necked geese,
some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees,
some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born,
you're never going to see no Unicorns.

Repeat: Last Chorus