[ Featuring the High Road ]
Near Banbridge Town, in the County Down
One morning in last July
Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín
And she smiled as she passed me by
She looked so neat, from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair
Such a coaxing elf, sure I'd shake myself
To make sure I was standing there
From Bantry Bay, up to Derry Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair cailín
That I met in the County Down
As she onwards sped, sure I scratched my head
And I looked with a feeling queer
And I said, says I, to a passerby"Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?"
He smiled at me, and with pride says he"That's the gem of old Ireland's crown
Young Rosie McCann, from the banks of the Bann
She's the star of the County Down"
From Bantry Bay, up to Derry Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair cailín
That I met in the County Down
She'd a soft brown eye, and a look so sly
And a smile like a rose in June
And you held each note from her auburn throat
As she lilted lamenting tunes
At the pattern dance you'd be in a trance
As she skipped through a jig or a reel
When her eyes she'd roll, as she'd lift your soul
And your heart she would likely steal
From Bantry Bay, up to Derry Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair cailín
That I met in the County Down
At the harvest fair, she'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
With my shoes shone bright, and my hat cocked right
For a smile from the nut-brown rose
No pipe I'll smoke, and no horse I'll yoke
'Til the rust in my plough turns brown
'Til my smiling bride, by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down
From Bantry Bay, up to Derry Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair cailín
That I met in the County Down
From Bantry Bay, up to Derry Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair cailín
That I met in the County Down
