| Music File Barry Taylor |
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| The oldest copy of this tune is Gilderoy, which appears in Musick for Allan Ramsay's Collection of Scots Songs [Tea Table Miscellany] by Alexander Stuart (c 1726). Gilderoy also appeared in Thomas D'Urfey's Pills to Purge the Melancholy III (1707), although that version is less recognizable as this tune.* The tune has been used for numerous songs, including Divers and Lazarus, The Murder of Maria Martin, and Claudy Banks. In addition, the tune is used for several English and American Hymns and Carols. |
Near Banbridge town, in the County Down One morning in July Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen And she smiled as she passed me by. She looked so sweet from her two white feet To the sheen of her nut-brown hair Such a coaxing elf, I'd to shake myself To make sure I was standing there. From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay And from Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen That I met in the County Down. As she onward sped I shook my head And I gazed with a feeling rare And I said, says I, to a passerby "who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?" He smiled at me, and with pride says he, "That's the gem of Ireland's crown. She's young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann She's the star of the County Down." From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay And from Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen That I met in the County Down. I've travelled a bit, but never was hit Since my roving career began But fair and square I surrendered there To the charms of young Rose McCann. I'd a heart to let and no tenant yet Did I meet with in shawl or gown But in she went and I asked no rent From the star of the County Down. From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay And from Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen That I met in the County Down. At the crossroads fair I'll be surely there And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes And I'll try sheep's eyes, and deludhering lies On the heart of the nut-brown rose. No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke Though with rust my plow turns brown Till a smiling bride by my own fireside Sits the star of the County Down. From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay And from Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen That I met in the County Down. |
Related Links
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Lyrics From Digital Tradition Mudcat Discussion Cafe Discussion Group *Information from a Digital Tradition Forum thread. |
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