On the fourth of July eighteen hundred and six
We set sail from the sweet Cobh of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the grand city hall in New York
'Twas 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
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
and six million dogs
Seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million bales of old nanny goats tails
In the hold of the Irish Rover
There was Barney McGee
From the banks of the Lee
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
There was Johnny McGurk
Who was scared stiff of work
And a man from Westmeath called 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
There was old Mickey Coote
Who played hard on his flute
When the ladies lined up for the set
He was tootin' with skill
For each sparkling quadrille
'Til the dancers were fluthered and bet
With his smart witty talk
He was cock of the walk
As he rolled the dames under and over
They all knew at a glance
When he took up his stance
That he sailed in The Irish Rover
For a sailor it's always the bother in life
It's so lonesome by night and by day
And he longs for the shore
and the charming young whore
Who will melt all his troubles away
All the noise and the rout
Swillin' poiteen and stout
For him soon are done and over
Of the love of a maid he is never afraid
When he sails in the Irish Rover
We had sailed seven years
When the measles broke out
And the ship lost its way in the fog
And that deuce of a crew
Was reduced down to two
Just myself and the captain's old dog
When the ship struck a rock
Oh Lord, what a shock!
The boat she was turned right over
Turned nine times around
And the poor old dog was drowned
I'm the last of The Irish Rover