The Irish Rover Songtext
von Brigham Phillips

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 of New York
We had elegant craft, it was rigged fore and aft
And oh how the trade winds drove her
She had twenty-three masts and withstood several blasts
And they called her the Irish Rover


There was Barry McGee from the banks of the Lee
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
There was Slainte McGirt who was scared stiff of work
And a chap from Westmeath named Malone
There was Slugger O′Toole who was drunk as a rule
And fighting Bill Tracy from Dover
And your man Mick McGann from the banks of the Bann
Was the skipper of 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 goats' tails
We had four million barrels of stone
We had five million hogs and six million dogs
And seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million sides of old blind horses′ hides
And the home of the Irish Rover


We had sailed seven weeks and the measles broke out
And the ship lost its way in the fog
And the whole of the crew was reduced down to two
'Twas myself and the captain's old dog
Then the ship struck a rock, oh Lord what a shock
And it nearly tumbled right over
It turned nine times around and the old dog was drowned
And the last of the Irish Rover