Oh, in eighteen hundred and forty one,
My dungaree breeches I put on,
My dungaree breeches I put on,
(Chorus:To work upon the railway,
The railway,
I'm weary of the railway,
Oh, Poor Paddy works on the railway.)

In eighteen hundred an' forty-two,
I did not know what I should do [I had some work that I must do],
So I shipped away wid an Irish crew.


In eighteen hundred an' forty-three,
I packed my gear an'went to sea [I sailed away across the sea],
I shipped away to Amerikee.

In eighteen hundred an' forty-four,
I landed on Columbia's shore,
I had a pick-axe an' nothin' more.

In eighteen hundred an' forty-five,
Whan Dan O'Connell he wuz alive,
To break me leg I did contrive [The wonder is I kept alive].

In eighteen hundred an' forty-six,
Me drinks no longer I could mix,
So I changed me trade to carrying bricks [The Temperance League me there did fix].

In eighteen hundred an' forty-seven,
Me children numbered jist eleven,
Of girls I'd four, of boys I'd seven [So I sold me clothes an' sailed to Heaven].

In eighteen hundred an' forty-eight,
I made a fortune, not too late,
An' shipped away to the River Plate.

In eighteen hundred an' forty-nine,
I for a sight of Home did pine,
So I sailed down south to a warmer clime
[So I hired a Pullman car so fine/So I sailed down south to fair Caroline].


abc | midi | pdf

---

Source: S Hugill, 1994, Shanties from the Seven Seas,Mystic Seaport Museum, Conn.

Notes:


Roud: 208 (Search Roud index at VWML)
Laws:
Child: