The Star of the County Down

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Lyrics
Near to Banbridge town, in the County Down ,
One morning in July,
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by;
Oh, she looked so sweet from her two white feet,
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair,
Sure the coaxing elf, I'd to shake myself,
To make sure I was standing there.

Chorus
Oh, from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen,
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped I shook my head
And I gazed with a feeling quare
'And I said', says I to a passer-by.
'Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?'
Oh, he smiled at me, and with pride says he,
'That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
She's young Rosie McCann, from the banks of the Bann
She's the star of the County Down. '

Chorus

She'd a soft brown eye and a look so sly,
And a smile like the rose in June,
And you hung on each note from her lily-white throat,
As she lilted an Irish tune.
At the pattern dance you were held in trance
As she tripped through a reel or jig,
And when her eyes she'd roll, she'd coax upon my soul
A spud from a hungry pig.

Chorus

I've traveled a bit, but never was hit,
Since my roving career began;
But fair and square I surrendered there
To the charm of young Rose McCann.
With a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet within shawl or gown
But in she went and I asked no rent
From the star of the County Down.

Chorus

At the harvest fair I'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes,
And I'll try sheep's eyes and deludhering lies
On the heart of the nut-brown Rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Though my plow with rust turns brown
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the Star of the County Down.

Chorus

The song The Star of the County Down is an Irish ballad by Cathal Mac Garvey (1866-1927). The melody is much older and documented in the book Music for Allan Ramsay's Collection of Scots Songs by Alexander Stuart under the name Gilderoy , published in 1726 . There are numerous other songs on the same melody, including My Love Nell , Divers and Lazarus, The Murder of Maria Martin, Mary from Blackwater Side, When First I Left Old Ireland .

The rhyme scheme of the song is remarkable, because not only the rows in pairs rhyme ( cross rhyme ), but in each case in the lines 1, 3, 5 and 7 yet Inreime lie.

The song is sung from the point of view of a young man meeting a young woman named Rose McCann, who is known as the "Star of County Down ".

There is also a German version of the song with the title Eine M Morgen .

Recordings

The Star of the County Down has been recorded by many bands from the folk scene as well as others:

literature

  • John Loesberg: Folksongs and Ballads Popular in Ireland . Vol. 3. Ossian Publications, Cork 1980. ISBN 0-946005-02-8

Web links