I've brought this up in other McAlpine posts, but have never really gotten any kind of response. Tom Dahill, an Irish American singer from Minnesota, gave me a different set of words. He told me it is the "original" - written by John Henry of Silgo. Now that Jim McLean has replied to this post...I wonder...do you (or anyone else for that matter) know anything about this version.

McALPINE'S FUSILIERS
(John Henry?)

Did your mother come from Ireland, especially from Donegal
You'll get rashers, eggs and bacon, you'll get anything at all
For gangers and for navvys we will give three ringing cheers
And for John McCann he's a handy man on McAlpine's Fusiliers

Oh we'll not forget the hay boys with their fancy shirts and suits
We'll make them don the mole-skins, the arcs and navvy boots
If the graft is tough sure we're all cat rough we have no dread of fear
And it's in the pub we'll drink the sub with McAlpine's Fusiliers

And it's when your on the tarmac and you have no grub to eat
You'll crawl into the hotsir camps and drum upon a plate
It's there you'll meet the gangers who'll dispel your hate from fear
And it's now we're on the road again with McAlpine's Fusiliers

And it's here good luck and we'll drink the sub cause we're all long distance men
We dug the Mersey tunnel from Carlisle to Bridge End
But one day we'll tramp to Downing Street to meets the Lords and the peers
And it's on the map that we'll fill the gap with McAlpine's Fusiliers


Nick