Christy Moore

"Johnny Don't Go To Ballincollig"

"Johnny Don't Go To Ballincollig"


Johnny don't go to Ballincollig
Where you always get so disappointed
Johnny don't go to Carragaline
I'm not coming with you this time
You only go there to get let down

Johnny don't go Johnny don't go
Johnny don't go stay in town

Johnny don't go calling that woman
She's the one left you behind
If you go and call that woman
I'm not coming with you this time

If you go up to Mallow
You better beware of the big Blackwater
If you went as far as Mallow
You might never again come down

Johnny don't go to the banks of the Shannon
Johnny don't go to the banks of the Nile
Johnny don't go to the tower of London
Hang around for another little while

Johnny don't go to the Crystal Palace
Johnny don't go to the hole in the wall
Johnny don't go to the big television
Hey Johnny don't go at all

Where would you be going
Where would you be going
Where would you be going
Where would you be going

Johnny don't go Johnny don't go
Johnny don't go stay in town

"Johnny Jump Up"

"Johnny Jump Up"


I'll tell you a story that happened to me
One day as I went down to Youghal by the sea
The sun it was high and the day it was warm
Says I an auld pint wouldn't do me no harm

I went in and I called for a bottle of stout
Says the barman I'm sorry the beer is sold out
Try whiskey or Paddy ten years in the wood
Says I I'll try cider I've heard that it's good

O never, o never, o never again
If I live to a hundred or a hundred and ten
I fell to the floor and I couldn't get up
After drinking a pint of old Johnny Jump Up

After drinkin' a quart I went out to the yard
Where I met up with Brophy the big local guard
Come here to me boy don't you know I'm the law
So I jumped up on the counter and kissed him on the jaw

We fell to the floor and we couldn't get up
But it wasn't me kissed him twas the Johnny Jump Up
And the next thing I met down in Youghal by the sea
Was a poor man on crutches and says he to me

I'm afraid of me life I'll get hit by a car
Would you help me across to the Railwayman's Bar?
After drinkin' a pint of that cider so sweet
He threw down his crutches and danced round on his feet

A man died in the union by the name of McNab
They washed him and shaved him and laid him right out on the slab
And after the undertaker his measurements did take
His wife took him home to a very fine wake

It was about twelve o'clock and the beer it was high
The corpse he sat up and says he with a sigh
I can't get into heaven for they won't let me up
Till I bring them a drink of old Johnny Jump Up

O never, o never, o never again
If I live to a hundred or a hundred and ten
For I fell to the floor and I couldn't get up
After drinking a pint of old Johnny Jump Up

"Joxer Goes To Stuttgart"

"Joxer Goes To Stuttgart"


It was in the year of '88 in the lovely month of June
When the gadflies were swarming and dogs howling at the moon
With rosary beads and sandwiches for Stuttgart we began
Joxer packed his German phrasebook and jumpleads for the van

Some of the lads had never been away from home before
'Twas the first time Whacker put his foot outside of Inchicore
Before we left for Europe we knew we'd need a plan
So we all agreed that Joxer was the man to drive the van

In Germany the autobahn, 'twas like the Long Mile Road
There was every make of car and van all carrying the full load
Ford Transits and Hiaces and an old Bedford from Tralee
With the engine overheating from longhauling duty free

There was fans from Ballygermot, Ballybough and Ballymun
On the journey of a lifetime, and the crack was ninety-one
Joxer met a German's daughter on the banks of the river Rhine
And he told her she'd be welcome in Ballyfermot any time

As soon as we found Stuttgart we got the wagons in a ring
Sean Og got out the banjo and Peter played the mandolin
There was fans there from everywhere attracted by the sound
At the first Fleadh Ceoil in Europe, and Joxer passed the flagon round

But the session it ended when we'd finished all the stout
The air mattresses inflated and the sleeping bags rolled out
As one by one we fell asleep Joxer had a dream
He dreamt himself and Jack Charlton sat down to pick the team

Joxer dreamt they both agreed on Packie Bonner straightaway
And that Moran, Whelan and McGrath were certainly to play
But tempers they began to rise and patience wearing thin
Jack wanted Cascarino but Joxer wanted Quinn

The dream turned into a nightmare, Joxer stuck the head on Jack
Who wanted to bring Johnny Giles and Eamon Dunphy back
The cock crew in the morning, it crew both loud and shrill
Joxer woke up in his sleeping bag many miles from Arbour Hill

The next morning none of the experts gave us the slightest chance
They said the English team would lead us on a merry dance
With their Union Jacks all them English fans for victory they were set
Until Ray Houghton got the ball and he stuck it in the net

What happened next is history, brought tears to many eyes
That day will be the highlight of many people's lives
Joxer climbed right over the top and the last time he was seen
Was arm in arm with Jack Charlton singing, Revenge for Skibereen

Now Whacker's back in Inchicore, he's living with his mam
And Jack Charlton has been proclaimed an honorary Irishman
Do you remember that German's daughter on the banks of the river Rhine
Well, didn't she show up in Ballyfermot last week...

"Knock"

"Knock"


At the early age of thirty-eight me mother said 'Go West!'
'Get up,' says she. 'And get a job'. Says I, 'I'll do my best'
I pulled on me Wellingtons to march to Kiltimagh
But I took a wrong turn in Charlestown and ended up in Knock

Oh once this quiet crossroads was a place of gentle prayer
Where Catholics got indulgent once or twice a year
You could buy a pair of rosary beads or get your candles blessed
If you had a guilty conscience you could get it off your chest

Then came the priest form Partry father Horan was his name
And since he's been appointed Knock has never been the same
'Begod,' says Jem, 'tis eighty years since Mary was adout'
'Tis time for another miracle.' and he blew the candle out

From Fatima to Bethlehem, from Lourdes to Kiltimagh
There's never been a miracle like the airport up in Knock

To establish terra firma he draw up a ten year plan
And started running dances around 1961
He built a fantabulous church, Go h-álainn, on the holy ground
And once he had a focal point he started to expand

Chip shops and Bed and Breakfasts sprung up over night
Once a place for quiet retreats now a holy sight
All sorts of fancy restaurants for every race and creed
Where black and white and yellow pilgrims all could get a feed

The stalls once under canvas became religious supermarts
With such a range o' godly goods, they had top twenty charts
While the airport opposition was destroyed by James' trump card
For centenary celebrations he got John Paul the twenty-third

'We had the Blessed virgin here,' Bold Jamesie did declare
'And Pope John Paul the twenty-third appeared just over there'
'Now do you mean to tell me', he said in total shock
'That I am not entitled to an airport here in Knock'

TD's were lobbied and harassed with talk of promised votes
And people who'd been loyal for years now spoke of changing coats
Eternal damnation was threatened on the flock
Who said it was abortive building airports up in Knock

Now everyone is happy the miracle is complete
Father Horan's got his runway, it's eighteen thousand feet
All sorts of planes could land there, of that there's little doubt
Handy for the George Bush to keep knock Gadaffi out

Did NATO donate, me boys, did NATO donate the dough?
Did NATO donate, me Girls, did NATO donate the dough?
Did NATO donate the dough, the dough, did NATO donate the dough?
Eighteen thousand feet of runway is an awful long way to go

"Lakes Of Pontchartrain"

"Lakes Of Pontchartrain"


It was one fine March morning I bid New Orleans adieu
And I took the road to Jackson town, my fortune to renew
I cursed all foreign money, no credit could I gain
Which filled me heart with longing for the lakes of Ponchartrain

I stepped on board of a railroad car beneath the morning sun
I rode the rods till evening and I laid me down again
All strangers there no friends to me till a dark girl towards me came
And I fell in love with my Creole girl by the lakes of Ponchartrain

I said, "Me pretty Creole girl, me money here's no good
If it weren't for the alligators, I'd sleep out in the wood"
"You're welcome here, kind stranger, from such sad thoughts refrain
For me Mammy welcomes strangers by the lakes of Ponchartrain

She took me into her Mammy's house, and treated me right well
The hair upon her shoulders in jet black ringlets fell
To try and paint her beauty, I'm sure would be in vain
So handsome was my Creole girl by the lakes of Ponchartrain

I asked her if she'd marry me. She said that ne'er could be
For she had got a lover and he was far at sea
She said that she would wait for him and true she would remain
Till he'd return to his Creole girl on the lakes of Ponchartrain

Its fare thee well, me Creole girl, I never may see you more
I'll neer forget your kindness in the cottage by the shore
And at each social gathering, a flowing bowl I'll drain
And I'll drink a health to my Creole girl by the lakes of Ponchartrain

"Lanigan's Ball"

"Lanigan's Ball"


In the town of Athy, one Jeremy Lanigan battered away till he hadn't a shilling
His father died, made him a man again, left him a farm and ten acres of ground
Myself, to be sure, got invitations for the boys and girls I might ask
Having been asked, friends and relations danced like bees around a sweet cask
There was lashings of drink wine for the ladies, potatoes and cake bacon and tea
Nolans and Dolans and all the O'Gradys, courting the girls and dancing away
While songs went round as plenty as water
The harps that are sounded through Tara's old hall
Biddie Grey and the rat catcher's daughter singing away at Lanigan's ball
Six long months I spent in Dublin, six long months doing nothing at all
Six long months I spent in Dublin, learning to dance for Lanigan's ball
She stepped out, I stepped in again. I stepped out and she stepped in again
She stepped out, I stepped in again, learning to dance for Lanigan's ball
They were doing all kinds of nonsensical dances all around in a whirligig
Julie and I soon banished their nonsense
Out on the floor for a reel and a jig
How the girls all got mad at me for they thought the ceilings would fall
I spent six months in Brook's Academy learning to dance for Lanigan's ball
Well the boys were merry and the girls all hearty
Dancing around in their couples and groups
An accident happened; Terence McCarthy
He put his boot through Miss Finnerty's hoops
She fell down in a faint and cried, 'Holy murder!'
Called her brothers and gathered them all
Carmody swore he'd go no further till he got revenge at Lanigan's ball
Boys oh boys 'tis then there was ructions. I got a belt from Phelim MC Hugh
I replied to his introduction, kicked up a terrible hullabaloo
Moloney the piper was near gettin' smothered
They leapt on his pipes, bellows, chanter and all
Boys and girls all got entangled and that put an end to Lanigan's ball

"Last Cold Kiss"

"Last Cold Kiss"


Two island swans mated for life
And his faithful heart would not consider any other wife
For three years peaceful joy midst the rushes of the pond
Proud and gentle was the loving of the last two island swans

Their love was like a circle, no beginning and no end
With his lady by his side a treasure and best friend
And the pond was all so peaceful with the rising of the sun
Young and free like the island breeze their life was just begun

'Til a dread day in November when the searing cold did start
Stalked the hunter with his bow, he put an arrow through her heart
Husband come to my side let your feathers warm my pain
For I feel I will not spend another day with you again

And the cold winds blow
He was brave but he's laid low
By her body in the isle of mist
I saw him give her one last cold kiss
One last cold kiss

Of swans the people talk of only one in this days tide
They brought him twenty ladies he would take no other bride
They say he will not move from the place where she did fall
Once so proud he's beaten now, he will not speak at all

And the cold winds blow
He was brave but he's laid low
By her body in the isle of mist
I saw him give her one last cold kiss
One last cold kiss

"Lawless"

"Lawless"


He was Lawless by name and lawless by nature, trouble right from the start
Hard as nails running wild thru the streets he was breaking his poor mother's heart
Nature played a trick on Lawless and the humour of nature is cruel
He grew up as we all had expected into a dangerous fool
He was a hard man a man for all seasons always out for a fight
He couldn't hold drink but still he'd get plastered in Clarkes every Saturday night
He'd strip of his vest, challenge the best 'til the guards were called to come fast
They'd lock him away for the rest of the day leave him out Sunday morning for mass
One night he went down to the Ringsend regatta where he met up with the bould Dolly Platts
She wasn't exactly what you'd call beauty but she was the belle of our flats
A whilwind romance and Dolly took a flier with Lawless she would settle down
'Twas pure coincidence 3 months before there was a Yankee destroyer in town
The couple were blessed with one of Gods miracles before 6 months had elapsed
Dolly gave birth to a 9 pound black baby and Lawless was fit to collapse
She swore she'd never been touched by another and Lawless took her at her word
And the neighbours exclaimed"he's the spit of his father-the cuckoo is a wonderful bird
Lawless stayed in and looked after his baby while Dolly went out for the night
The auld gossips all say she was free in her ways and their evil rumours ran rife
When Lawless heard this he waited for Dolly on the bridge where the river runs low
No-one will ever know what happened but Dolly drowned in The Dodder below
Some say he is crazy, more say he's evil and everyone says that he's mad
No one will defend him,he was no angel, but I'll you he wasn't all bad
They've locked him away for the rest of his natural never again will he see
Down the back of Ringsend there's a lonely child playin' where the Liffey flows into the sea

"Limerick Rake"

"Limerick Rake"


I am a young fellow that's easy and bold
In Castletown conners I'm very well known
In Newcastle West I spent many a note
With Kitty and Judy and Mary
My father rebuked me for being such a rake
And spending my time in such frolicsome ways
But I ne'er could forget the good nature of Jane
Agus fágaimíd siúd mar atá sé

My parents had reared me to shake and to mow
To plough and to harrow, to reap and to sow
But my heart being airy to drop it so low
I set out on high speculation
On paper and parchment they taught me to write
In Euclid and Grammar they opened my eyes
And in Multiplication in truth I was bright
Agus fágaimíd siúd mar atá sé

If I chance for to go to the town of Rathkeale
The girls all round me do flock on the square
Some give me a bottle and others sweet cakes
To treat me unknown to their parents
There is one from Askeaton and one from the Pike
Another from Arda, my heart was beguiled
Tho' being from the mountains her stockings are white
Agus fágaimíd siúd mar atá sé

To quarrel for riches I ne'er was inclined
For the greatest of misers must leave them behind
I'll purchase a cow that will never run dry
And I'll milk her by twisting her horn
John Damer of Shronel had plenty of gold
And Devonshire's treasure is twenty times more
But he's laid on his back among nettles and stones
Agus fágaimíd siúd mar atá sé

This cow can be milked without clover or grass
For she's pampered with corn, good barley and hops
She's warm and stout, and she's free in her paps
And she'll milk without spancil or halter
The man that will drink it will cock his caubeen
And if anyone coughs there'll be wigs on the green
And the feeble old hag will get supple and free
Agus fágaimíd siúd mar atá sé

If I chance for to go to the market at Croom
With a cock in my hand and my pipes in full tune
I am welcome at once and brought up to a room
Where Bacchus is sporting with Venus
There's Peggy and Jane from the town of Bruree
And Biddy from Bruff and we all on the spraoí
Such a combing of locks as there was about me
Agus fágaimíd siúd mar atá sé

There's some say I'm foolish and more say I'm wise
But being fond of the women I think is no crime
For the son of King David had ten hundred wives
And his wisdom was highly recorded
I'll take a good garden and live at my ease
And each woman and child can partake of the same
If there's war in the cabin, themselves they may blame
Agus fágaimíd siúd mar atá sé

And now for the future I mean to be wise
And I'll send for the women that acted so king
And I'll marry them all on the morrow by and by
If the clergy agree to the bargain
And when I'm on my back and my soul is at peace
These women will crowd for to cry at my wake
And their sons and their daughters will offer their prayer
To the Lord for the soul of their father