PADDY KELLY'S BREW
(Tommy Makem)
Paddy Kelly is my name, making poteen is my game
And I live a way there behind the hill
I can make a drop that's pure and there's nothing it can't cure
It surpasses any medicine or pill
Chorus:
And it tastes as sweet as honey as it trickles down your throat
It looks as clear and pure as morning dew
It would make a fella sing, though he didn't have a note
Won't you try a drop of Paddy Kelly's brew
Now it will cure your rheumatism it'll cure a wheezy chest
It will cure you of the gout or gall stones too
It curses toothache, headache, backache, fallen hair and all the rest
Fallen arches, corns and bunions and the flu
Chorus
Any summer day you'll find me catching salmon in the glen
Or setting snares for rabbits on the hill
But nicest thing of all is when evening shadows fall
Just to watch those bottles filling at my still
Chorus
Now I know you will confess that the world's in a mess
And the politicians don't know what to do
I can offer them a plan that will cure the ills of man
Throw away the guns and hand out Kelly's brew
Chorus
Chorus
PADDY LAY BACK
'Twas a cold and frosty morning in December
All of me money, it was spent,
Where it went to, Lord, I can't remember
So I down to the shipping office went
Paddy lay back, Paddy lay back! Take in the slack, Take in the slack
Take a turn around the capstan, Heave away! Heave away!
About ship's stations, boys, be handy,
We're bound for Valparaiso 'round the Horn!
That day there was a great demand for sailors,
For the colonies, for 'Frisco and for France.
So I shipped aboard a limey barge, the Hotspur,
An' got paralytic drunk on my advance.
I woke up in the mornin' sick an' sore,
I knew I was on me way again;
I hear a voice a-bawlin' at the door,
``Get up ya buggers, an' answer to yer names.''
'Twas on the quarterdeck where I first saw 'em.
Such an ugly bunch I never seen before,
For the captain shipped a shanghai crew of Dutchmen,
it made me poor ol' heart feel sick and sore.
There was Spaniards an' Dutchmen an' Rooshians,
an' Jolly Jacks across the sea from France.
An' none of them could speak a word of English,
but answered to the name of `Month's Advance!'
I wished I was in the "Jolly Sailor,''
along with Irish Kate a-drinking' beer,
An' then I thought what jolly chaps were sailors,
An' with me flipper I wiped away a tear.
A PAIR OF BROWN EYES
(Shane MacGowan)
One summer's evening drunk to hell I sat there nearly lifeless
And old man in the corner sang where the water lilies grow
And on the juke box Johnny sang about a thing called love
And it's how are you kid and what's your name
and how would you bloody know
In blood and death 'neath a screaming sky I lay down on the ground
And the arms and legs of other men were scattered all around
Some cursed some prayed some prayed, then cursed, then preyed,
Then bled some more
And the only thing that I could see
Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me
But when we got back labeled parts one, two and three
There was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go for a pair of brown eyes
I looked at him, he looked at me, all I could do was hate him
While Ray and Philomena sang of my elusive dreams
I saw the streams, the rolling hills, where his brown eyes were waiting
And I thought about a pair of brown eyes that waited once for me
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go for a pair of brown eyes
So drunk to hell I left the place, sometimes crawling sometimes walking
A hungry sound came across the breeze, so I gave the walls a talking
And I heard the sounds of long ago from the old canal
And the birds were whistling in the tree,
Where the wind was gently laughing
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go for a pair of brown eyes
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go for a pair of brown eyes
For a pair of brown eyes For a pair of brown eyes
PARADE
(Malvina Reynolds & Rod Sinclair)
The Military band is playing, come see the parade,
Wave and cheer our heroes as they bravely march away,
This time it's not the unemployed, the workers or the poor,
It's the captains of our industries who're marching off to war.
They're marching from the boardroom and from the stately home,
From their club and from the embassy we're proud to see them come,
It's their turn to lift the banner and to listen to the drum,
Younger men must stay at home and keep the lassies warm.
Hurray, Hurray, they're matching out today,
The Millionaires and bankers in the Army.
The millionaire director with a rifle in his hand,
Is off to face the enemy to defend his native land,
He likely won't be quite so fat when he comes back from war,
We know that he'll fight bravely, he knows what he's fighting for.
There goes the factory owner with the other wealthy men,
We'll keep the wheels a turning till they come home again,
Generals order generals to march and wheel and turn,
The men alas must stay at home, there's plenty to be done.
Hurray, Hurray, they're matching out today,
The Millionaires and bankers in the Army.
And there's the politician, who only yesterday
Was talking on the telly of the price we'd have to pay,
He looks a little paler now his words are not so fine,
He's realized that he's the one whose life is on the line.
Let's gather at the window, join the crowds that line the street,
They're waving to the soldiers marching to the beat,
This time it's not the unemployed, the workers or the poor,
It's the judges and the millionaires who're marching off to war.
Hurray, Hurray, they're matching out today,
The Millionaires and bankers in the Army.
THE PARTING GLASS
Oh all the money that e'er I spent,
I spent it in good company.
And all the harm that e'er I've done
alas it was to none but me.
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall.
So fill to me the parting glass,
Goodnight and joy be with you all,
Oh all the comrades that e'er I had
Are sorry now I'm going away.
And all the sweethearts that e'er I had
Would wish me one more day to stay.
But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not.
I'll gently rise and I'll softly call
Goodnight and joy be with you all.
If I had money enough to spend,
And leisure time to sit awhile.
There is a fair maid in this town,
That sorely has my heart beguiled.
Her rosy cheeks and ruby lips,
I own she has my heart in thrall.
Then fill me with the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.
PAT OF MULLINGAR
(Tune: Traditional; Words: Will Millar)
You may talk and sing and boast about your Fenians and your clans,
And how the boys from County Cork beat up the Black and Tan.
But I know a little codger who came out without a scar.
His name is Paddy Mulligan, the man from Mullingar.
Chorus:
The Peelers chased him out of Connemara,
For beatin' up the valiant Dan O'Hara.
And when he came to Ballymo, he stole the Parson's car,
And he sold it to the Bishop in the town of Castlemar.
Seven hundred fellers couldn't match him.
The Chief sent out the orders for to catch him.
And when he came to Dublin Town, he stole an armoured car
And he gave it to the I. R. A. brigade in Mullingar.
Well the Peelers got their orders to suppress the man on sight.
So they sent for reinforcements through the county left and right.
Three thousand men surrounded him, they hunted near and far.
But he was with the I. R. A. in Johnson's motorcar.
They came with tanks and armoured cars, they came with all their might.
Them Peelers never counted on old Paddy's dynamite.
On the fourteenth day of April, well he blew them to July.
And the name of Paddy Mulligan makes the girls of Ireland sigh.
THE PATRIOT GAME
(Dominic Behan)
Come all ye young rebels and list while I sing
For the love of ones country is a terrible thing
It banishes fear with the speed of a flame
And it makes us all part of the Patriot Game
My name is O'Hanlon I've just gone sixteen
My home is in Monaghan there I was weaned
I learned all my life cruel England to blame
And so I am part of the Patriot Game
It's nearly two years since I wandered away
With the local battalion of the bold I.R.A.
I read of our heroes and wanted the same
To play my own part in the Patriot Game
They told me how Connolly was shot in the chair
The wounds from his body all bleeding and bare
His fine body twisted all battered and lame
They soon made me part of the Patriot Game
This Ireland of ours has for long been half free
Six Counties are under John Bull's tyranny
And most of our leaders are greatly to blame
For shirking their part in the Patriot Game
And now as I lie here my body all holes
I think of those traitors who bargained and sold
I wish that my rifle had given the same
To the Quislings who sold out the Patriot Game
And when I am dead and my memory is dim
And Ireland's young manhood this task I bring him
Let them live for their country and rekindle the flame
And not die a pawn in the Patriot Game
And not die a pawn in the Patriot Game
THE PEELER AND THE GOAT
Oh, the Bansha peeler went out one night on duty and patrolling-o
He spied a goat upon the road and took him for a-strolling-o
With bayonet fixed, he sallied forth and he caught him by the wizen-o
And there swore out a mighty oath he'd send him off to prison-o
Have mercy, sir, the goat replied and let me tell my story-o
I am no rogue, no ribbon man, no cocky, Whig, or Tory-o
I'm innocent of any crime, of petty or high treason-o
For my tribe is active at this time it is the mating season-o
“Do not complain,” the peeler said but give your tongue a bridle-o
You're absent from your dwelling place, disorderly, and idle-o
Your hoary locks will not prevail nor your sublime oration-o
For the penal laws will you transport on your own information-o
No penal laws have I transgressed by deed or combination-o
It's true I have no place of rest, no home, or habitation-o
But Bansha is my dwelling place where I was bread and borne-o
I'm of an honest working race that's all the trade I've learned-o
I wager, sir, that you are drunk on whiskey, rum, and brandy-o
Or you wouldn't have such gallant spunk to be so bold and manly-o
You readily would let me pass If I had money handy-o
I'd take you to the parting glass its then I'd be the dandy-o
PEGGY GORDON
Oh Peggy Gordon you are my darling
Come sit ye down upon my knee
And tell to me the very reason
Why I am slighted so by thee
I am in love and I can't deny it
My heart lies troubled in my breast
It's not for me to let the whole world know it
A troubled mind can know no rest
I put my hand to a cask of brandy
It was my fancy so to do
For when I am drinking I am seldom thinking
And wishing Peggy Gordon was here
I wish I was away in England
Far across the briny sea
Sailing over the deepest ocean
Where love and care never bother me
I wish I was in a lonely valley
Where women kind cannot be found
Where all the small birds they change their voices
And every moment a different sound
Oh Peggy Gordon you are my darling
Come sit ye down upon my knee
And tell to me the very reason
Why I am slighted so by thee
PENNY EVANS
My name is Penny Evans and my age is twenty-one
I'm widow of the war that was fought in Vietnam
I have two baby daughters and I do the best I can
They say the war is over, but I think it's just begun
I remember, I was seventeen, when first I met young Bill
At his father's grand piano, we played both heart and soul
I only knew the left hand part, he played the right so well
He's the only boy I slept with and the only one I will
Well first we had a baby girl and we had two good years
And then the warning notice came, we parted without tears
Then nine months from our last good-bye, our second child appeared
And ten months and a telegram, confirming all our fears
And once a month I get a check from some army bureaucrat
And once a month I tear it up and mail the damn thing back
Do they think that makes it all right--do they think I'll fall for that
They can keep their bloody money, it won't bring my Jimmy back
I never cared for politics, speeches I don't understand
Like-wise I'll take no charity from any living man
For tonight there's fifty-thousand gone in that unhappy land
And fifty-thousand hearts and souls being played by just one hand
So my name is Penny Evans and my age is twenty-one
I'm widow of the war that was fought in Vietnam
I have two baby daughters, thank God I have no sons
They say the war is over, but for me it's just begun