Lyrics

The Recruiting Sergeant [Verse 1: Spider Stacy] As I was walking down the road A feeling fine and larky oh A recruiting sergeant came up to me Says he, "You'd look fine in khaki, oh" "For the king, he is in need of men Come read this proclamation, oh A life in Flanders for you then Would be a fine vacation, oh" [Verse 2: Spider Stacy] "That may be so," says I to him "But tell me, sergeant dearie-oh If I had a pack stuck upon my back Would I look fine and cheerie oh? For they'd have you train and drill until They had you one of the Frenchies, oh It may be warm in Flanders But it's draughty in the trenches, oh" [Verse 3: Shane MacGowan] The sergeant smiled and winked his eye His smile was most provoking, oh He twiddled and twirled his wee mustache Says he, "You're only joking, oh For the sandbags are so warm and high The wind you won't feel blowing, oh Well, I winked at a cailin passing by Says I, "What if it's snowing, oh?" [Verse 4: Spider Stacy & Shane MacGowan] Come rain or hail or wind or snow I'm not going out to Flanders, oh There's fighting in Dublin to be done Let your sergeants and your commanders go Let Englishmen fight English wars It's nearly time they started, oh I saluted the sergeant a very good night And there and then we parted, oh The Rocky Road to Dublin [Instrumental] The Galway Races [Verse 1: Shane MacGowan] As I went down to Galway Town to seek for recreation On the seventeenth of August, me mind being elevated There were passengers assembled with their tickets at the station Me eyes began to dazzle and they off to see the races [Refrain] With me wack fol the do fol The diddle idle ay [Verse 2: Shane MacGowan] There were passengers from Limerick and passengers from Nenagh The boys of Connemara and the Clare unmarried maidens There were people from Cork City who were loyal, true and faithful Brought home the Fenian prisoners from dying in foreign nations [Refrain] With me wack fol the do fol The diddle idle ay [Verse 3: Shane MacGowan] And it's there you'll see the pipers and the fiddlers competing The sporting wheel of fortune and the four and twenty quarters There's others without scruple, pelting wattles at poor Maggie And her father well-contented and he gazing at his daughter [Refrain] With me wack fol the do fol The diddle idle ay [Refrain] With me wack fol the do fol The diddle idle ay [Verse 4: Shane MacGowan] And it's there you'll see the jockeys and they mounted on so stably The pink, the blue, the orange, and green, the colors of our nation The time it came for starting, all the horses seemed impatient Their feet they hardly touched the ground, the speed was so amazing [Refrain] With me wack fol the do fol The diddle idle ay [Verse 5: Shane MacGowan] There was half a million people there of all denominations The Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew, the Presbyterian Yet there was no animosity, no matter what persuasion But fáilte hospitality inducing fresh acquaintance [Refrain] With me wack fol the do fol The diddle idle ay