~Vash bodhranai@hotmail.com

"click" .

THE RAGMAN'S BALL
(Traditional)

Come listen to me for a while
My good friends one and all
And I'll sing to you a verse or two
About a famous ball
Now the ball was given by some friends
Who lived down Ashe Street
In a certain house in the Liberties
Where the ragmen used to meet

Well the names were called at seven o'clock
And every man was on the spot
And to show respect for the management
Every ragman brought his mot
I must admit that I brought mine
At twenty five minutes to eight
And the first to stand up was Kieran Grace
For to tell me I was late

Then up jumps Humpy Soodelum
And he says: 'I think somehow'
But the way yez are all going on tonight
Yez are looking for a row
Now listen here, Grace if you want your face
You'd better not shout or bawl
There's a lot of hard chews gonna be here tonight
To respect the ragman's ball

Well for eating we had plenty now
As much as we could hold
We drank Brady's Loopline porter
Until round the floor we rolled
In the midst of all the confusion
Someone shouted for a song
When up jumps oul' John Lavin and sings
'Keep rollin' your barrel along'

Then says my one; 'You're quare one now'
And Biddy you're hard to beat
Oh when up jumps Liza Boland
And she told her to hold her prate
My one made a clout at her
She missed her and hit the wall
And the two of them went in the ambulance
The night of the ragman's ball

Then we all sat down to some ham parings
When everything was quiet
And for broken noses I must say
We had a lovely night
Black eyes they were in great demand
Not to mention split heads and all
So if anyone wants to commit suicide
Let them come to the ragman's ball

THE NIGHT OF THE RAGMAN'S BALL

(First three verses.)

Then we all sat down to some fish and chips, and every man was there,
And as a post of honour Billy Boland took the chair;
He swiped the chair and sold it to an old one in Carmen Hall,
And danced on the face of poor Kieran Grace the night of the Ragman's Ball.

Says my one, "You're a quare one, and Billy, you're hard to beat,"
When up jumps Liza Boland, and told her to hold her prate ;
But my one made a clout at her, she missed her and struck the wall,
And the two of them went in the ambulance the night of the Ragman's Ball.

Just to make the thing a swell affair, we all brought friends a few,
We brought up blind Gort Whelan and big Dan Kenny too;
And the gallant Jack Tar smoked his cigar, and slipped coming through the hall,
He lost a new bag and all his swag the night of the Ragman's Ball.

To keep the house alive, my boys, we brought some music, too,
We brought up Tommy Reynolds and his old tin whistle, too;
He played that night with all his might till coming on to dawn,
But we couldn't find many to dance with Dan Kenny that night at the Ragman's Ball.

Well, for eating we had plenty, as much as we could hold,
We drank Brady's Loop-Line porter till around the floor we rolled,
In the midst of the confusion someone shouted for a song,
When up jumped Dunlavin and sang, "Keep rolling your barrel along."

(Final verse.)

O Lochlainn adds:  "From ballad singer in Thomas Street, Dublin, 1913.  The Complete Petrie Collection, 755.  It was in Dublin City.  Denis Devereux told me that Arigho who printed the ballad, was persecuted for a long time after by the various "notabilities" mentioned in it -all of whom demanded largesse.  [Text from a] printed Ballad Sheet."

I'll work up a midi for the Mudcat Midi Pages.

Malcolm