Irish Rover
The Dubliners & Pogues Lyrics

In the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and six
It was 1806 when the story began

We set sail from the fair Cobh of Cork
We left from a beautiful town called Cobh in Cork

We were bound far away with a cargo of bricks
We were transporting bricks to a faraway place

For the fine city hall of New York
Those bricks were for the construction of New York's city hall

In a very fine craft, she was rigged fore-and-aft
Our ship was a beautiful vessel, with its mast and sails arranged in a certain way

And oh, how the wild winds drove her
We experienced strong winds while sailing

She had twenty-three masts and withstood several blasts
Our ship had 23 masts and could withstand strong winds

And we called her the Irish Rover
We referred to our ship as the Irish Rover

There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee
One of our crew members was Barney McGee, who was from a place called the banks of Lee

There was Hogan from County Tyrone
Another crew member was Hogan, who was from County Tyrone

And a chap called McGurk who was scared stiff of work
Another member was named McGurk, who was afraid of working hard

And a chap from West Meade called Malone
There was also a crew member called Malone from West Meade

There was Slugger O'Toole who was drunk as a rule
We had a crew member called Slugger O'Toole, who was usually drunk

And fighting Bill Casey from Dover
We also had a crew member called Bill Casey, who was from Dover and liked to fight

There was Dooley from Claire who was strong as a bear
We had a crew member called Dooley, who was from a place called Claire and was very strong

And was skipper of the Irish Rover
Dooley was in charge of our ship

We had one million bales of old billy goats' tails
Our cargo included one million bales of goat tails

We had two million buckets of stones
We were carrying two million buckets of stones

We had three million sides of old blind horses hides
Our cargo also included three million hides of blind horses

We had four million packets of bones
We were transporting four million packets of bones

We had five million hogs, we had six million dogs
We were also carrying five million hogs and six million dogs

And seven million barrels of porter
Our cargo included seven million barrels of porter

We had eight million bags of the best Sligo rags
We were carrying eight million bags of the finest Sligo rags

In the hold of the Irish Rover
All of this cargo was in the ship's hold

We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out
We had been sailing for seven years when an outbreak of measles occurred

And the ship lost her way in a fog
During the outbreak, our ship got lost in a fog

And the whole of the crew was reduced unto two
All the crew members, except for two, had either died or fallen sick

'Twas myself and the captain's old dog
Only myself and the captain's old dog were left on the ship

Then the ship struck a rock with a terrible shock
Our ship hit a rock and it was a very intense moment

And then she heeled right over,
The ship tilted severely

Turned nine times around, and the poor dog was drowned
The ship spun nine times and sadly, the captain's dog drowned

I'm the last of the Irish Rover
The artist is the only survivor of the Irish Rover