The Band is:
Patrick Devlin - Guitar and vocals
Chad Smalley - Bass and vocals
Michael McAloon - Drums
Irish Rover
Blaggards Lyrics
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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
We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of stones
We had three million sides of old blind horses hides'
We had four million barrels of bones
We had five million hogs
six million dogs
Seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million sides of old nanny goate tails
In the hold of the Irish Rover
There was awl Mickey Coote
Who played hard on his flute
And the ladies lined up for a set
He would tootle with skill
For each sparkling quadrille
Though the dancers were fluther'd 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
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
For a sailor its' always a bother in life
It's so lonesome by night and by day
That he longs for the shore
and a charming young whore
Who will melt all his troubles away
Oh, the noise and the rout
Swillin' poiteen and stout
For him soon the torment's over
Of the love of a maid he is never afraid
An old salt from the Irish Rover
We had sailed seven years
When the measles broke out
And the ship lost its way in the fog
And that 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 was turned right over
Turned nine times around
And the poor old dog was drowned (1, 2, 3!)
I'm the last of The Irish Rover
The song "Irish Rover" by Blaggards tells the story of a group of sailors who set out from the Cove of Cork in Ireland with a cargo of bricks bound for the Grand City Hall in New York. The ship they were traveling on was called "The Irish Rover," and it had an impressive number of masts - twenty-seven in total. The ship was also strong enough to withstand powerful blasts of wind while at sea. The cargo that the sailors had on board was enormous, including one million bags of Sligo rags, two million barrels of stones, three million sides of old blind horses hides, four million barrels of bones, five million hogs, six million dogs, seven million barrels of porter, and eight million sides of old nanny goat tails.
Throughout their journey, the sailors encountered a range of colorful characters, including Mickey Coote, who was known for his skillful flute playing, and Barney McGee and Johnny McGurk, two men from different parts of Ireland. The crew also included Slugger O'Toole, who was known for being drunk most of the time, and Fighting Bill Tracy from Dover. Mick McCann, from the banks of the Bann, was the skipper of The Irish Rover. The sailors enjoyed their time at sea, swilling poiteen and stout and spending time with charming young women who could "melt all their troubles away."
After seven years at sea, however, disaster struck. The measles broke out on the ship, and it lost its way in the fog. The crew was reduced down to just two members - the singer and the captain's old dog. Tragically, the ship struck a rock, and the poor old dog was drowned while the singer was left as the last of The Irish Rover.
Line by Line Meaning
We set sail from the sweet Cove of Cork
Our journey began from the pleasant Cove of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
On our voyage, we carried bricks as our cargo
For the Grand City Hall in New York
We were headed towards New York's Grand City Hall
'Twas a wonderful craft
Our vessel was a magnificent one
She was rigged fore and aft
Our ship was rigged with sails both in the front and the rear
And oh, how the wild wind drove her
The untamed wind impelled our vessel with force
She stood several blasts
Our vessel withstood numerous blasts of wind
She had twenty seven masts
Our strong ship had 27 masts
And they called her The Irish Rover
Our ship's name was The Irish Rover
We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We carried one million bags of quality rags from Sligo
We had two million barrels of stones
On our ship, we had two million barrels filled with stones
We had three million sides of old blind horses hides'
Three million old hides of sightless horses were in our possession
We had four million barrels of bones
Our vessel carried four million barrels of bones
We had five million hogs
We had five million hogs on our ship
six million dogs
Our vessel carried six million dogs
Seven million barrels of porter
We had seven million barrels of porter beer onboard
We had eight million sides of old nanny goate tails
We carried eight million sides of old goat tails
In the hold of the Irish Rover
All these items were stored in the ship's hold
There was awl Mickey Coote
One of our crew members was Mickey Coote
Who played hard on his flute
He was an expert flutist
And the ladies lined up for a set
Women queued up for a dance with him
He would tootle with skill
Coote would play the flute with finesse
For each sparkling quadrille
He played charming tunes for every quadrille dance
Though the dancers were fluther'd and bet
Even drunk dancers were smitten by his music
With his smart witty talk
Coote's witty conversation was impressive
He was cock of the walk
Naturally, he became the center of attention
As he rolled the dames under and over
Women moved around with him, enchanted by his charm
They all knew at a glance
Everyone could see that Coote was a skilled and captivating performer
When he took up his stance
His posture signaled the start of a wonderful tune
That he sailed in The Irish Rover
Everyone recognized that he was on board The Irish Rover
There was Barney McGee
Barney McGee was also one of our crew members
From the banks of the Lee
McGee hailed from the Lee river's banks
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
Another member of our crew was Hogan from Tyrone County
There was Johnny McGurk
Johnny McGurk was part of our group
Who was scared stiff of work
McGurk detested work and was lazy
And a man from Westmeath called Malone
A crew member named Malone hailed from Westmeath
There was Slugger O'Toole
Another member of our crew was Slugger O'Toole
Who was drunk as a rule
O'Toole habitually had a drinking problem
And Fighting Bill Tracy from Dover
A man from Dover called Fighting Bill Tracy was part of our crew
And your man, Mick McCann
Another crew member was Mick McCann
From the banks of the Bann
McCann came from the Bann river's banks
Was the skipper of the Irish Rover
He was the captain of The Irish Rover
For a sailor its' always a bother in life
Life is always a challenge for a sailor
It's so lonesome by night and by day
It is a lonely occupation both day and night
That he longs for the shore
Sailors crave the shore after spending extended periods at sea
and a charming young whore
They want to find affection and intimacy
Who will melt all his troubles away
They hope to find relief from all their worries
Oh, the noise and the rout
The noise and throngs of people ashore are overwhelming
Swillin' poiteen and stout
People are drinking poiteen and stout in abundance
For him soon the torment's over
The sailor's pain is over when he is on the shore with jovial company
Of the love of a maid he is never afraid
A sailor is fearless when it comes to falling in love
An old salt from the Irish Rover
A seasoned sailor from The Irish Rover
We had sailed seven years
Our journey spanned seven years
When the measles broke out
The ship was hit with measles
And the ship lost its way in the fog
Nautical fog caused the ship to lose its way
And that whale of a crew
The large crew of the ship
Was reduced down to two
Only two persons survived the calamity
Just myself and the Captain's old dog
The only beings left were the captain's dog and me
Then the ship struck a rock
The ship then collided with a rock
Oh Lord! what a shock
It was a traumatic event
The bulkhead was turned right over
The bulkhead got flipped over
Turned nine times around
The flipped bulkhead rotated nine times
And the poor old dog was drowned (1, 2, 3!)
Unfortunately, even the captain's dog perished in the accident
I'm the last of The Irish Rover
The artist is the only surviving member of The Irish Rover
Contributed by Anthony Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.