In Banbridge town in the County down
One morning in last July
From the Boreen green came sweet Colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there
From Bantry Bay to the Derry Quay and
from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I’ve seen like the brown Colleen
That I met in the County Down
As she onward sped, sure I stretched my head
And I looked with a feeling rare
And I say’s, say’s I!, to a passer-by
“Who’s the maid with the nut brown hair?”
He smiled at me and he say’s, say’s he,
“That’s the gem of the Ireland’s Crown”
It’s the Rosie McCann from the Banks of the Bann
She’s the star of the County Down
From Bantry Bay…
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 my nut brown rose
No pipe I’ll smoke, no horse I’ll yoke,
Till my plough turns rust coloured brown
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down
From Bantry Bay…
