Lyr/Chords Req: The Old Dun Cow

Subject: The Night the Old Dunn Cow Caught Fire
From: GUEST,BillMcDonald
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 12:59 PM

Looking for the complete lyrics to an Irish pub song I believe is called "The Night the Old Dunn Cow Caught Fire"

The refrain goes: "There was Brown, upside down, mopping up the whiskey with his beard. Fire, fire, the pub's on fire, open up the door and let us in! Don't let 'em in 'till it's all drunk up! Somebody shouted MacIntyre! And we all got stone blind paralytic drunk, when the Old Dunn Cow caught fire."

Any help or direction would be appreciated!

Thanks.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Night the Old Dunn Cow Ca
From: Morticia
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:04 PM

here you go click here for the lyrics not got the chords though, sorry

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Night the Old Dunn Cow Ca
From: GUEST,Roll&Go-C
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:18 PM

There are quite a few variants of this song out there. The last verse provided doesn't seem quite right:

Then there came a mighty crash. Half the bloody room caved in,
And we were drownded by the fireman's hose though we were almost happy.
So we got some tacks and some wet old sacks and we packed ourselves inside,
And we sat there getting bleary-eyed drunk when the Old Dun Cow caught fire.

We sing it this way:

Just then there came such a terrible crash, half the bleeding roof gave way.
We was drown by the fireman's hose, but still we felt quite gay,
So we got some sacks and some old tin tacks, and bunged ourselves up inside,
And we all got drinking good old scotch, till we was bleary-eyed.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Night the Old Dunn Cow Ca
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:34 PM

English rather than Irish, of course.  See also:

When The Old Dun Cow Caught Fire
Old Dun Cow, other verses

Found through the very useful "Digitrad and Forum Search" on the main Forum page...

Malcolm

Subject: Chords Add: THE OLD DUN COW
From: Pseudolus
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:47 PM

this is what I use. I asked the same question a while back, got the words and got the chords from listening to a CD over and over. Boy was my wife glad when I finally figured it out!!

Just [Am]then there came such a terrible crash,
Half the bleeding [G]roof gave [Am]way,
[Am]We was [G]drown by the [Am]fireman's [G]hose,
But [Am]still we felt quite [E7]gay;
So we [Am]got some sacks and some old tin tacks,
And bunged our[G]selves in[Am]side,
And we [Am]all got [G]drinking [Am]good old [Dm]scotch,
Till [Am]we was bleary-[E7]eyed.

[Am]There was Brown, upside down,
mopping the [G]whiskey off the [Am]floor.
[Am]Booze, [G]booze, the [Am]fireman [G]cried,
as [Am]they came-a-knockin at the [E7]door.

[Am]Don't let 'em in 'till it's all mopped up!
Somebody [G]shouted MacIn[E7]tyre!
And we [Am]all got [G]stone blind [Am]paralytic [Dm]drunk,
when the [Am]Old Dunn Cow caught [E7]fire

For the last verse...
when the [Am]Old Dunn [E7]Cow caught [Am]fire

Have fun!!!!
Frank

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Night the Old Dunn Cow Ca
From: Abby Sale
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:00 PM

Morty did a fine job on it last night at PalTalk and you should have been there. I was lurking on another machine & sadly didn't get a chance to shout "MACINTYRE" with everybody. But I shouted it out loud.

The DT version should note that the "Oh, there was Brown, up side down," section is a chorus & should go at the end, too.

Here's another half-verse Dick sent me. I don't know where it came from but it works fine (followed by the chorus) and I always use it.

All of a sudden in the firemen rushed
And they saved us one by one.
But when they came to save the booze
They found it was all gone.
And when the fire got reported in
The papers the next day
They said they found no booze at all
It must have all boiled away.

Subject: Chords Add: OLD DUN COW
From: Gary T
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:05 PM

Hi Bill--you the one I know in KC? Howdy, friend.

In the box just above the list of thread titles, where it says "Digitrad and Forum Search," if you type in "old dun cow" you'll see lots of posts that mention the song, including the ones Malcolm linked above. Some of those might have chords.

I play it in A minor (actually capoed up 2, to sing in B minor) as follows:

  Verse:
       Am                 Am           
  Some friends and I in a public house,
       Am                   Am     
  Were playing dominoes one night.
       Am       Dm     Am      Dm   
  When into the room a fireman came,
      Dm              E      
  His face all chalky white.
          Am                Am     
                   "What's up?" says Brown, "Have you seen a ghost?" 
   Am                        Am     
  "Have you seen your Aunt Moriah?"
         Am     Dm      Am            Dm   
  "Oh my Aunt Moriah be blowed," says he,
       E                 E      
  "The bleeding pub's on fire" 
  
  Chorus:
  Am                Am         
  There went Brown, upside down
  Am                           Am    
  Mopping up the whisky on the floor
   Am     Dm         Am      Dm    
  "Booze, booze" the firemen cried
     Dm                        E   
  As they came knocking on the door
   Am                          Am       
        "Don't let them in till it's all mopped up"
  Am                     E      
  Somebody shouted "MacIntyre!"
         Am      Dm         Am        Dm    
  And we all got blue blind paralytic drunk
           E                  E   
  When the Old Dun Cow caught fire
  
  (final line:)
           E                  Am    
  When the Old Dun Cow caught fire
  

I worked these out by ear and wouldn't be surprised if there's a better or more "official" chord arrangement, so I'll be interested if anyone else has chords to this.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Night the Old Dunn Cow Ca
From: Gary T
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:12 PM

Well, shoot, two of those lines got out of place. If you move the words back to the margin, the chords line up at the right place.

Frank's (Pseudolus) post wasn't up when I started typing. I've got to admit that the "G" doesn't sound as good to my ear as the "Dm", at least not with the tune I'm familiar with.

Subject: Unaccomplished...
From: Bernard
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:35 PM

I've always done it unaccompanied - but then, I've got a very loud voice.

Somehow it's a song that I find a bit too 'loose' for accompaniment - I use it as a rabble-rouser.

Just my opinion, of course...

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Night the Old Dunn Cow Ca
From: Morticia
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 05:15 PM

thank you for those kind words Abby...( how much did we agree I owe you?)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Old Dun Cow
From: GUEST,Dave Skye
Date: 10 Oct 13 - 06:47 PM

I can't remember where I first heard this song - it might well have been at the Herga in the 60s. But I was always unhappy about the lack of a good ending so I did some searching and found a couple of versions with the following story line (I've changed it a little bit!)

"Then late that night, when the fire was out
we came up from the cellar below.
The pub was burnt, our booze was gone,
our heads was hanging low.
The up spoke Brown, with face quite queer,
and said, "don't look so sour"
"we've got to get down to Murphy's Pub -
it closes in an hour!

I think it's an apt ending!