Lyrics

My son John was tall and slim and he had a leg for every limb
Now he's got no legs at all, 'cause he run a race wi' a cannonball

Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle T'me do rum rai
Ooh rum rai, an a fol liddle lai, an a whack fo' the riddle T'me do rum rai

Were ye drunk or were ye blind, when ye left yer two fine legs behind?
Was it sailin' on the sea, that took your legs from the ground to the knee?

Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai
Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai

Well I was not drunk, no I wasn't blind, when I left my two fine legs behind
T'was a cannonball on the 5th of May, that took my two fine legs away

Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai
Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai

All foreign war I'll now denounce, 'tween the King of England an' the King of France
I'd rather my legs as they used to be, than the King of Spain an' his whole navy

Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai
Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai

For I was tall, I was slim, and I had a leg for every limb,
But now I've got no legs at all, they were both shot away by a cannonball.

Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai
Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai!

Near Banbridge Town in the County Down, one morning last July
Down the boreen green came a sweet cailín, and she smiled as she passed me by
She looked so sweet in her two bare feet, to the sheen of her nut-brown hair
Such a winsome elf, I'm ashamed of myself, for to see I was staring there

From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the sweet cailín
That I met in the County Down

At the Harvest Fair, she'll be surely there, so I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
With me shoes shone bright and me hat cocked right, for a smile from the nut brown rose
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke, 'til my plough is a rust-colored brown
And a smiling bride by my own fireside, is the star of the County Down!

From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the sweet cailín
That I met in the County Down

Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai
Ooh rum rai, fol liddle lai, whack fo' the riddle t'me do rum rai

From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay, and from Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the sweet cailín, that I met in the County Down

From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay, and from Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the sweet cailín, that I met in the County Down

From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay, and from Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the sweet cailín, that I met in the County Down