Irish Rover
Traditional:
courtesy of www.SailorSongs.com
A D
In the year of Our Lord eighteen hundred and six
A E7
We set sail for the coal quay of Cork
A D
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
A E7 A
For the grand city hall in New York
A E7
We’d an elegant craft it was rigged fore and aft
A E7
And how the trade winds dro---ove her
A D
She had twenty –three masts and she stood several blasts
A E7 A
And they called her the Irish Ro - ver
.........
A D
There was Barney Magee from the banks of the Lee
A E7
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
A D
There was Johnny Magurk who was scared stiff of work
A E7 A
And a chap from Westmeath named Malone
A E7
There was Slugger O’Toole who was drunk as a rule
A E7
And fighting Bill Tracy from Do---ver
A D
And your man Mick Mc Cann from the banks of the Bann
A E7 A
Was the skipper of the Irish Ro—ver
........................................................................
A D
We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
A E7
We had two million barrels of bone
A D
We had three million bales of nanny goats tales
A E7 A
We had four million barrels of stone
A E7
We had five million hogs and six million dogs
A E7
And seven million barrels of po - -rter
A D
We had eight million sides of old blind horses hides
A E7 A
In the hold of the Irish Ro - ver
.........................................................................
A D
We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out
A E7
And our ship lost her way in a fog
A D
And the whole of the crew was reduced down to two
A E7 A
T’was myself and the captains old dog
A E7
The ship struck a rock Oh Lord what a shock
A E7
And nearly tumbled o - ver
A D
Turned nine times around then the poor old dog was drowned
A E7 A
I’m the last of the Irish Ro - ver
The author of this website has put a lot of time and effort into gathering the greatest collection of sea shanties for the world to enjoy - There are songs that have been to sung to a job of work at sea for many, many years and collecting them has been a great endeavour. - Roger Chartier has made the effort out of his own interest and the requests that he has gotten to do this work from fellow musicians who wanted a good source of sea shanties to draw on and learn from. He has been told that for this effort he is a remarkable man.
