Irish Rover
Santiano Lyrics


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On the Fourth of July, 1806
We set sail from the sweet cohb 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 bales of old nanny-goats' tails
We had four million barrels of bones
We had five million hogs and six million dogs
Seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million sides of old blind horses hides
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

We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of stone
We had three million bales of old nanny-goats' tails
We had four million barrels of bones
We had five million hogs and six million dogs
Seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million sides of old blind horses hides
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 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, what a shock
The bulkhead was turned right over
Turned nine times around
And the poor old dog was drowned (one, two, three)
I'm the last 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 bales of old nanny-goats' tails
We had four million barrels of bones
We had five million hogs and six million dogs
Seven million barrels of porter




We had eight million sides of old blind horses hides
In the hold of the Irish rover

Overall Meaning

The song 'Irish Rover' by Santiano is a tribute to the Irish spirit and the maritime history of Ireland. The song tells a story of a ship that set sail from Cork in Ireland in 1806, carrying a massive load of goods to New York. The ship was called the Irish Rover and was a magnificent vessel with 27 masts, that weathered multiple storms on its journey across the Atlantic. The cargo included bags of Sligo rags, barrels of stone, bales of old nanny-goats tails, barrels of bones, hogs, dogs, barrels of porter, and old blind horses hides. The crew of the ship was made up of Irishmen from all over the country, including Barney McGee from Cork, Hogan from County Tyrone, Johnny McGurk, who was a bit of a slacker, and Slugger O'Toole who was constantly drunk.


The song takes a darker turn when the ship suffers from the measles outbreak and loses its way in the fog. As a result, the crew is whittled down to just two members: the singer and the captain's old dog. The ship then strikes a rock, and sadly the dog drowns. The song ends with the singer proclaiming himself as the last of the Irish Rover.


Line by Line Meaning

On the Fourth of July, 1806
We started our journey on July 4th, 1806


We set sail from the sweet cohb of Cork
We began our journey from the lovely port of Cork


We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks For the Grand City Hall in New York
We were carrying bricks to build 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
Our ship was amazing, with sails at the front and back, and it was thrilling to feel the wind pushing us forward


She stood several blasts She had twenty seven masts And they called her the Irish rover
Our ship weathered many storms, had 27 masts, and was known as the Irish rover


We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags We had two million barrels of stone We had three million bales of old nanny-goats' tails We had four million barrels of bones We had five million hogs and six million dogs Seven million barrels of porter We had eight million sides of old blind horses hides In the hold of the Irish rover
We carried huge amounts of various goods (including cloth, stone, animal body parts, and alcoholic beverages) in the ship's hold


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
Our crew was made up of many Irish men from different regions and with different personalities, and the captain was Mick McCann


We had sailed seven years When the measles broke out And the ship lost its way in the fog
After seven years of sailing, the crew got sick with the measles and the ship got lost in a fog


And that whale of a crew Was reduced down to two Just myself and the Captain's old dog
The crew was reduced to only two: me and the Captain's dog


Then the ship struck a rock Oh, what a shock The bulkhead was turned right over Turned nine times around And the poor old dog was drowned (one, two, three) I'm the last of The Irish rover
Finally, the ship hit a rock, turned over nine times, and the Captain's dog drowned. I'm the only survivor of The Irish rover




Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Donie Cassidy, Desi Hynes, Traditional

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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