Hardly Strictly Irish Songs



Willie McBride

Well how do you do Private William McBride,
Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside?
And rest for awhile beneath the warm summer sun,
I've been walking all day and now I'm nearly done
I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
When you joined the glorious fallen in 1916;
Well I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean,
Or, young Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?

Did they beat the drum slowly,
Did they play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the Death March
As they lowered you down?
Did the band play
"The Last Post And Chorus?"
Did the pipes play
"The Flowers Of The Forest?"

Did you leave 'ere a wife or a sweetheart behind?
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined?
And although you died back in 1916,
In that faithful heart are you forever nineteen?
Or are you a stranger without even a name,
Enclosed forever behind a glass pane,
In an old photograph, torn, and battered and stained,
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame?

Ah the sun now it shines on these green fields of France,
The warm summer breeze makes the red poppies dance,
And look how the sun shines from under the clouds;
There's no gas, no barbed wire, there're no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard is still No Man's Land,
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man,
To a whole generation that was butchered and damned.

Ah, young Willie McBride, I can't help wonder why,
Did all those who lay here really know why they died?
And did they believe when they answered the call,
Did they really believe that this war would end war?
For the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain,
The killing and dying were all done in vain,
For, young Willie McBride, it all happened again,
And again and again and again and again.


I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag
by Country Joe McDonald

Come on all of you big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.  
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

Chorus:

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Gotta go out and get those reds —
The only good commie is the one that's dead
You know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.

Come on Wall Street, don't move slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
There's plenty good money to be made
Supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.

Come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send your sons off before it's too late.
You can be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.


MRS. McGRATH

Oh, Missis McGrath, the sergeant said,
Would you like to make a soldier out of your son, Ted?
With a scarlet coat, and a three-cocked hat,
Now Missis McGrath, wouldn't you like that?
Wid yer too-ri-aa, fol de diddle aa
Too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa.

Oh Mrs. McGrath lived by the seashore
For the space of seven long years or more;
Till she saw a big ship sail into the bay,
Here's my son, Ted, wisha, clear the way!
Wid yer too-ri-aa, fol de diddle aa
Too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa.

Oh, Captain, dear, where have ye been
Have you been in the Meditereen?
Will ye tell me the news of my son, Ted?
Is the poor boy livin', or is he dead?
Wid yer too-ri-aa, fol de diddle aa
Too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa.

Ah, well up comes Ted without any legs
An in their place he had two wooden pegs,
She kissed him a dozen times or two,
Saying, Holy Moses, 'tisn't you.
Wid yer too-ri-aa, fol de diddle aa
Too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa.

Oh then were ye drunk, or were ye blind
That ye left your two fine legs behind?
Or was it walkin' upon the sea
Wore your two fine legs from the knees away?
Wid yer too-ri-aa, fol de diddle aa
Too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa.

Oh, I wasn't drunk and I wasn't blind
But I left my two fine legs behind.
For a cannon ball, on the fifth of May,
Took my two fine legs from the knees away.

Oh, Teddy, me boy, the old widow cried,
Yer two fine legs were yer mammy's pride,
Them stumps of a tree wouldn't do at all,
Why didn't ye run from the big cannon ball?

All foreign wars I do proclaim
Between Don John and the King of Spain
And by herrins I'll make them rue the time
That they swept the legs from a child of mine.
Wid yer too-ri-aa, fol de diddle aa
Too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa.


I'll Tell Me Ma

I'll tell me ma when I get home
The boys won't leave the girls alone
They pull my hair, they steal my comb
But that's all right till I get home
She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Belfast city
She is courting one, two, three
Please, won't you tell me, who is she?

Albert Mooney says he loves her
All the boys are fighting for her
Knock at the door and ring the bell
Hey, my true love, are you well
Out she comes as white as snow
Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes
Our Jenny Murry says she'll die
If she doesn't get the fellow with the roving eye

Let the wind and the rain and the hail go high
Snow come tumbling from the sky
She's as nice as apple pie
She'll get a fellow by and by
When she gets a lad of her own
She won't tell her ma when she gets home
Let them all come as they will
It's Albert Mooney she loves still


Whack Fol the Diddle   (God Bless England)

I'll sing you a song of peace and love,
     Whack fol the diddle all the di do day.
To the land that reigns all lands above.
     Whack fol the diddle all the di do day.
May peace and plenty be her share
Who kept our homes from want and care,
God bless Mother England is our prayer.
     Whack fol the diddle all the di do day.

     Whack fol the diddle all the di do day.
     So we say, Hip Hooray!
     Come and listen while we pray.
     Whack fol the diddle all the di do day.

When we were savage, fierce and wild
She came like a mother to her child.
She gently raised us from the slime
Kept our hands from hellish crime,
And sent us to Heaven in her own good time.

Now our fathers oft were very bad boys.
Guns and pikes are dangerous toys.
From Bearna Baol to Bunker Hill
They made poor England weep her fill,
But ould Brittania loves us still!

Now Irishmen, forget the past!
And think of the time that's coming fast.
When we shall all be civilized,
Neat and clean and well-advised.
And won't Mother England be surprised?


Nell Flaherty's Drake

Oh my name it is Nell, and the truth for to tell,
I come from Cootehill which I'll never deny;
I had a fine drake, and I'd die for his sake,
That my grandmother left me, and she going to die.
The dear little fellow, his legs they were yellow;
He could fly like a swallow or swim like a hake
'Til some dirty savage, to grease his white cabbage,
Most wantonly murdered my beautiful drake.

Now, his neck it was green oh, most fit to be seen,
He was fit for a queen of the highest degree.
His body was white, and it would you delight;
He was plump, fat, and heavy, and brisk as a bee.
He was wholesome and sound, he would weight twenty pound,
And the universe 'round I would roam for his sake.
Bad luck to the robber, be he drunk or sober,
That murdered Nell Flaherty's beautiful drake.

May his spade never dig, may his sow never pig,
May each hair in his wig be well thrashed with a flail;
May his turkey not hatch, may the rats eat his meal.
May every old fairy from Cork to Dunleary
Dip him smug and airy in river or lake,
That the eel and the trout, they may dine on the snout
Of the monster that murdered Nell Flaherty's drake.

May his pig never grunt, may his cat never hunt,
May a ghost ever haunt him at dead of the night;
May his hens never lay, may his horse never neigh,
May his goat fly away like an old paper kite.
That the flies and the fleas may the wretch ever tease,
May the piercing March breeze make him shiver an shake;
May a lump of a stick raise the bumps fast and thick
Of the monster that murdered Nell Flaherty's drake.

Now the only good news that I have to infuse
Is that old Paddy Hughs and young Anthony Blake,
Also Johnny Dwyer and Corney Maguire,
They each have a grandson of my darling drake.
My treasure had dozens of nephews and cousins,
And one I must et or my heart it will break;
To set my mind aisy or else I'll run crazy -
So ends the whole song of Nell Flaherty's drake.


Courting In The Kitchen

    Come single belle and beau, to me now pay attention
    And love, I'll plainly show, is the divil's own invention.
    For once I fell in love with a damsel most bewitchin'
    Miss Henrietta Bell, down in Captain Kelly's kitchen

    chorus:
    To my toora loora la, my toora loora laddy
    Ri toora loora la, ri toora loora laddy.

    At the age of seventeen, I was 'prenticed to a grocer
    Not far from Stephen's Green, where Miss Bell for tea would go, sir
    Her manners were so free, she set me heart a-twitchin'
    She invited me to tea, down in Captain Kelly's kitchen.

    Next Sunday bein' the day we were to have the flare-up
    I dressed myself quite gay, an' I frizzed and oiled my hair up
    The Captain had no wife, he had gone out a-fishin'
    So we kicked up high life, below-stairs in the kitchen.

    Just as the clock struck six we sat down to the table
    She served me tea and cakes --- I ate while I was able,
    I ate cakes, drank punch and tea, till my side had got a stitch in
    And the hours flew quick away, while coortin' in the kitchen.

    With my arms around her waist, I kissed ---she hinted marriage
    To the door in dreadful haste came Captain Kelly's carriage!
    Her looks told me full well that moment she was wishin'
    That I'd get out to Hell, or somewhere far from the kitchen.

    She flew up off my knees, full seven feet or higher
    And over heads and heels, threw me slap into the fire
    My new Repealers coat, that I'd bought from Mrs. Stichen
    With a thirty-shilling note, went to blazes in the kitchen.

    I grieved to see my duds, all besmeared with smoke and ashes
    When a tub of dirty suds, right in my face she dashes.
    As I lay on the floor, still the water she kept pitchin'
    Till the footman broke the door, and marched into the kitchen.

    When the Captain came downstairs, and seen my situation
    In spite of all my prayers I was marched off to the station
    For me they'd take no bail, tho' to get home I was itchin'
    And I had to tell the tale of how I got in the kitchen.

    I said she did invite me, but she gave a flat denial
    For assault she did indict me, and I was sent for trial.
    She swore I robbed the house, in spite of all her screechin'
    And I got six months hard, for my coortin' in the kitchen.


Finnegan’s Wake

Tim Finnegan lived in Walkin' Street                        
A gentleman, Irish, mighty odd;
He had a brogue both rich and sweet
And to rise in the world he carried a hod.
Now Tim had a sort of the tipplin' way
With a love of the whiskey he was born
And to help him on with his work each day
He'd a "drop of the cray-thur" every morn.

Whack fol the darn O, dance to your partner
Whirl the floor, your trotters shake;
Wasn't it the truth I told you
Lots of fun at Finnegan's wake!

One mornin' Tim was feelin' full
His head was heavy which made him shake;
He fell from the ladder and broke his skull
And they carried him home his corpse to wake.
They rolled him up in a nice clean sheet
And laid him out upon the bed,
A gallon of whiskey at his feet
And a barrel of porter at his head.

His friends assembled at the wake
And Mrs. Finnegan called for lunch,
First they brought in tay and cake
Then pipes, tobacco and whiskey punch.
Biddy O'Brien began to bawl
"Such a nice clean corpse, did you ever see?
"O Tim, mavourneen, why did you die?"
"Arragh, hold your gob" said Paddy McGhee!

Then Maggie O'Connor took up the job
"O Biddy," says she, "You're wrong, I'm sure"
Biddy she gave her a belt in the gob
And left her sprawlin' on the floor.
And then the war did soon engage
'Twas woman to woman and man to man,
Shillelagh law was all the rage
And a row and a ruction soon began.

Then Mickey Maloney ducked his head
When a noggin of whiskey flew at him,
It missed, and falling on the bed
The liquor scattered over Tim!
The corpse revives! See how he raises!
Timothy rising from the bed,
Says,"Whirl your whiskey around like blazes
Thanum an Dhul! Do you thunk I'm dead?"


Arthur McBride

Oh, me and my cousin, one Arthur McBride
As we went a-walking down by the seaside
Now, mark what followed and what did betide
For it being on Christmas morning...
Out for recreation, we went on a tramp
And we met Sergeant Napper and Corporal Vamp
And a little wee drummer, intending to camp
For the day being pleasant and charming.

"Good morning ! Good morning!" the sergeant did cry
"And the same to you gentlemen!" we did reply ,
Intending no harm but meant to pass by
For it being on Christmas morning.
But says he, "My fine fellows if you will enlist,
It's ten guineas in gold I will slip in your fist
And a crown in the bargain for to kick up the dust
And drink the King's health in the morning.

For a soldier he leads a very fine life
And he always is blessed with a charming young wife
And he pays all his debts without sorrow or strife
And always lives pleasant and charming...
And a soldier he always is decent and clean
In the finest of clothing he's constantly seen
While other poor fellows go dirty and mean
And sup on thin gruel in the morning."

"But", says Arthur, "I wouldn't be proud of your clothes
For you've only the lend of them as I suppose
And you dare not change them one night, for you know
If you do you'll be flogged in the morning.
And although that we are single and free
we take great delight in our own company
And we have no desire strange faces to see
Although that your offers are charming
And we have no desire to take your advance
All hazards and dangers we barter on chance
For you would have no scruples for to send us to France
Where we would get shot without warning"

"Oh now!", says the sergeant "I'll have no such chat
And I neither will take it from spalpeen or brat
For if you insult me with one other word
I'll cut off your heads in the morning"
And then Arthur and I we soon drew our hods
And we scarce gave them time for to draw their own blades
When a trusty shillelagh came over their heads
And bade them take that as fair warning

And their old rusty rapiers that hung by their side
We flung them as far as we could in the tide
"Now take them out, Divils!", cried Arthur McBride
"And temper their edge in the morning".
And the little wee drummer we flattened his pow
And we made a football of his rowdeydowdow
Threw it in the tide for to rock and to row
And bade it a tedious returning

And we having no money, paid them off in cracks
And we paid no respect to their two bloody backs
For we lathered them there like a pair of wet sacks
And left them for dead in the morning.
And so to conclude and to finish disputes
We obligingly asked if they wanted recruits
For we were the lads who would give them hard clouts
And bid them look sharp in the morning.

Oh me and my cousin, one Arthur McBride
As we went a walkin' down by the seaside,
Now mark what followed and what did betide
For it being on Christmas morning.



Galway Bay

Maybe someday, i'll go back again to Ireland
If my dear old wife would pass away
She nearly has my heart broke with all her naggin
she's got a mouth as big as galway bay

See her drinkin 16 pints of Pabst Blue Ribbon
And then she can walk home without a sway
If the sea were beer instead of salty water
She would live and die in galway bay

See her drinkin 16 pints of Padgo Murphy's
When the barman says "I think its time to go"
She doesn't try to speak to him in gaelic
But a language that the clergy do not know

On her back she has tattooed a map of Ireland
And when she takes her bath on Saturday
She rubs the sunlight soap around by Claddaugh
Just to watch the suds roll down by Galway Bay.

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Irish Song Questions

(You may have to use google and/or a dictionary to answer some of these questions.)

Please answer with complete sentences. Answer as many questions as you can.

This will be due on Monday.

Willie McBride
1. Did the singer know Willie McBride? How can you tell?
2. What kind of gas was mentioned?
3. What is "No Man's Land" during a war?
4. What does "blind indifference" mean?
5. What season is it when he visits his grave?
6. What was done in vain and what does "in vain" mean?

Feel Like I'm Fixin To Die Rag
1. What does "put down your books" mean?
2. What does "pearly gates" refer to?
3. Who were the reds?
4. What does "tools of the trade" refer to?
5. What does the "box" refer to?

Mrs. McGrath
1. What does "rue" mean?
2. Who does Mrs. McGrath blame for her son's injury?

God Bless England
1. What does it mean when it says "She came like a mother to her child?"
2. What is a pike?

Nell Flagherty's Drake
1. What color were the drake's legs?
2. What word in this song is pronounced like "Cate?"
3. What is a drake?

Courting in the Kitchen
1. What is "courting?"
2. What is a "belle?"
3. What is a "beau?"
4. In what city is the park "Stephen's Green?"
5. How is the word "tea" pronounced?
6. What does "six months hard" mean?

Finnegan's Wake
1. What does "tippling" mean?
2. What does "biddy" mean?
3. What does "hod" mean?
4. What does "Thanum an Dhul" mean?
5. Who wrote the book called Finnegans Wake?

Arthur McBride
1. Why isn't Arthur impressed with the offer of new clothes?
2. What was the advance they were offered?
3. Why did they decide not to enlist?
4. What caused them to fight?
5. Who won the fight?
6. Did anybody die in the fight?
7. What did Arthur and his cousin use for weapons?
8. How is this song similar to another song on this list?

Galway Bay
1. On what day of the week does the wife bathe?