The Irish Rover

The Irish Rover - The Malarkey Brothers

In the year of our lord eighteen hundred and six

We set sail from the cove of Cork

We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks

For the grand city hall in New York

T'was a wonderful craft she was rigged fore and aft

And oh how the wild wind drove her

She stood several blasts she had twenty-seven masts

And they called her the Irish Rover

There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee

There was Hogan from County Tyrone

There was Charlie McGurk who was scared stiff of work

And a chap from Westmeathe named Malone

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 of the Irish Rover

We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags

We had two million barrels of stone

We had three million sides of old blind horses' hides

We had four million barrels of bone

We had five million hogs six million dogs

Seven million barrels of porter

We had eight million bails of old nanny gold tails

In the hold of the Irish Rover

We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out

And the ship lost its way in the fog

And the whale of a crew was reduced down to two

Just myself and the Captain's old dog

Then the ship struck a rock oh Lord what a shock

The bulkhead turned right over

Turned nine times around and the poor dog was drowned

And I'm the last of the Irish Rover