A popular and long-running Canadian-Irish folk group that saw their beginni… Read Full Bio ↴A popular and long-running Canadian-Irish folk group that saw their beginning in the 1960s, The Irish Rovers are particularly well-known for their hit recording of Shel Silverstein's "The Unicorn," although a great many more of their characteristically happy and oft-comical songs remain well-known to this day. In 2010, the band celebrated 45 years as recording artists, with their latest CD, "Gracehill Fair" and filming the DVD/television special "Home in Ireland", shot entirely on-location, throughout the northwest coast of Ireland. George Millar says, “It’s basically The Irish Rovers ‘Coming Home’ because this is our home, for all of us. We want to show the world what the northwest Irish coast is like. I’ve traveled the world now for over 40 years and there’s nothing like it.”

In 1968, the predecessor of the Juno’s named The Irish Rovers Canada’s, “Folk Group of the Year”, and the following year, they received a Grammy nomination for “Folk Performance of the Year”.

As hosts of three national television series in Canada and Ireland, through the 1970's and 80s, The Irish Rovers increased the popularity of Irish music by way of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).

Canada's Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, personally asked the band if they could “please become Canadian” so that they could officially represent Canada throughout the world. Since then, they have represented Canada at no less than five world Expos, and in recognition for a quarter century of contributions to the International music world, The Irish Rovers won the Performing Rights Organization's (PROCAN) 'Harold Moon Award'.

Although all members of the band hail from Ireland, a number of their biggest hits were often "non-Irish". Their own rousing, traditional Irish compositions, however, do comprise the bulk of their music.

By the 90’s, their songwriting was even more prolific than their early years, and production of albums wasn’t about to slow down. Since they desired the freedom that as a younger band, they could not afford, in ’93 The Irish Rovers established their own record company, Rover Records. Their songs tell the story of the Irish, whether it’s a lost love, a sailor on leave, or the simple good taste of a Guinness. Rover Records has put out their last eleven albums, including Celtic Collection, Come Fill Up Your Glasses, Down by the Lagan Side, Another Round, Still Rovin', a Christmas album, and their greatest hits, 40 Years A-Rovin'.

Founding member George Millar is from Ballymena, original member Wilcil McDowell is from Larne, John Reynolds from Belfast, Sean O'Driscoll from Cork, Ian Millar from Ballymena, and percussionist Fred Graham is also from Belfast.

Former members include founding member Jimmy Ferguson who passed away in 1997 and Joe Millar.

Mrs. Crandall's Boardinghouse
The Irish Rovers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

In the boarding house I live in, Everything was growing old;
Silver threads among the butter, And the cheese was green with mold.
When the dog died we had sausages; When the cat died catnip tea.
When the landlord died I left there, Spareribs were too much for me.

Oh my Dear Missus Crandall, I think I like you a lot;
I live in your house, Quiet as a mouse,
Some day you'll be caught.

Girls can never change their nature,
It is well beyond their reach;
Missus Crandall is a lemon, She can never be a peach
But the law of compensation is the one I always preach;
You can always squeeze a lemon, Have you tried to squeeze a peach?

Oh my Dear Missus Crandall, I think I like you a lot;
I live in your house, Quiet as a mouse,
Some day you'll be caught.

My train was in the station, I was rushing full of care;
But I stepped on her cat and stumbled, And fell headlong down the stairs.
Missus Crandall came up to me, "Did you miss a step, me son?"
"No,"My dear landlady, I hit every bloomin' one

Oh my Dear Missus Crandall, I think I like you a lot;

I live in your house, Quiet as a mouse,
Some day you'll be caught.

Overall Meaning

The Irish Rovers's song, "Mrs. Crandall's Boarding House," is a humorous depiction of life in a rundown, dilapidated boarding house. The singer describes how everything in the boarding house is old and decaying, from the butter with silver threads to the green-mold cheese. When the dog dies, they eat sausages, while the cat's demise results in catnip tea. But the last straw is when the landlord dies, and the singer leaves because the spareribs are too much for them.

The second half of the song focuses on the singer's relationship with the manager of the boarding house, Mrs. Crandall. Though the singer likes her, they believe that she cannot be compared to a peach, only to a lemon. However, the singer preaches the law of compensation, stating that one can always squeeze a lemon and suggests trying to squeeze a peach. The song ends with the singer recounting a humorous incident where they trip on Mrs. Crandall's cat and fall down the stairs.

Overall, the song is a light-hearted, comical take on living in a questionable boarding house and the relationships formed within it.

Line by Line Meaning

In the boarding house I live in, Everything was growing old;
The singer resides in a dilapidated boarding house where all the amenities are getting old and worn out.

Silver threads among the butter, And the cheese was green with mold.
The quality of food is also declining, as evidenced by moldy cheese and butter with silver threads of mold.

When the dog died we had sausages; When the cat died catnip tea.
Since the quality of food was so low, the residents resort to eating their pets as a source of protein.

When the landlord died I left there, Spareribs were too much for me.
The landlord's death was the last straw for the artist as it meant the only viable source of meat was gone, leaving only spareribs which were not appetizing enough to keep the artist there.

Oh my Dear Missus Crandall, I think I like you a lot;
The artist comically addresses the landlady, pretending to like her while secretly plotting something against her.

I live in your house, Quiet as a mouse,
The singer tries to blend in and be discreet while living in the boarding house.

Some day you'll be caught.
The singer hints at a plan to reveal something about the landlady.

Girls can never change their nature,
The artist makes a sexist comment about women's inability to change who they are at their core.

It is well beyond their reach;
The artist emphasizes that the aforementioned claim about women is absolute and immutable.

Missus Crandall is a lemon, She can never be a peach
The artist compares the landlady to a sour lemon, implying that she can never be anything more than that.

But the law of compensation is the one I always preach;
The singer acknowledges the concept of karma and retribution.

You can always squeeze a lemon, Have you tried to squeeze a peach?
The artist challenges the listener to try extracting juice out of a peach, implying that it isn't easy to change or improve something/someone inherently flawed.

My train was in the station, I was rushing full of care;
The singer urgently needed to get somewhere, perhaps to escape the boarding house.

But I stepped on her cat and stumbled, And fell headlong down the stairs.
The singer accidentally injures the landlady's cat and falls down the stairs.

Missus Crandall came up to me, "Did you miss a step, me son?"
The landlady sarcastically asks the singer if he had simply missed a step while falling down the stairs.

"No,"My dear landlady, I hit every bloomin' one
The artist responds sarcastically by saying that he hit every step on his way down.

Some day you'll be caught.
The artist says this again to hint at a plan to expose the landlady.

Contributed by Allison K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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