I / J / K

The IRISH ROVER

In the year of our lord

eighteen hundred and six
We set sail from the cold cove of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the grand City Hall in New York
Well we'd an elegant craft,

she was rigged 'fore and aft
And lord how the trade winds drove her
We had twenty-three masts,

and she stood several blasts
And they called her the Irish Rover
-----
Well there was Barney McGee

from the banks of the Lee
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
Well there was Johnny McGurk

who was scared stiff of work
And a chap from Westmeath called Malone
Well there was Slugger O'Toole

who was drunk as a rule
And fighting Bill Tracy from Dover
And your man Mick McCann,

from the banks of the Bann
Was the skipper on the Irish Rover
-----
We had one million bags

of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of bone
We had three million bales

of old nanny goat's tails
We had four million barrels of stone
Well we had five million hogs,

and six million dogs
And seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million sides

of a blind horse's hides
In the hold of the Irish Rover

-----
We had sailed seven years

when the measles broke out
And our ship lost its way in the fog
But the few remaining lives

were reduced down to five
'Twas meself and the captain's old dog
Well then the ship struck a rock;

oh lord, what a shock
We nearly tumbled over
Turned nine times around

and the poor old dog was drowned
I'm the last of the Irish Rover

***