THE (FAMOUS) GREYHOUND

Come all you good people and strangers around
I'll sing you a song of a famous greyhound
She could eat like a horse (whore?), she could roar like a bear
And we thought we were made when we brought her to Clare
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

As a puppy, she came from the town of Macroom
She was reared by Tim Early (sp?), a man of renown
With her barrister (Bannister?) breeding and bloodlines so rare,
We ne'er saw her likes in the whole county Clare
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

And in no time at all, sure she was a greyhound
She stood two foot six, and she weighed forty pounds
From her father she took all the brains and the wits
And she took from her mother the film-star looks
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

And she going over the fields, you couldn't beat her for power
For she sweeps oe'r the ground like a bad thunder shower
With her head and her tail curled up in a ball
If you blinked, or you winked, you'd not see her at all
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

And when she took the notion, she was a devil to fight
Not a cat in the parish but she'd put to flight
On a hen or a duck she would pounce without fail
You had to wear shin guards when she wagged her tail!
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

Now, if you met her trainer, he'd tell you she talked
On long conversations when he took her for walks
To shorten the journey around the wood-road
Himself and his hound could be heard in dispute
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

Now the Ennis boys heard of this dog of great fame
And they swore they could beat her or something the same.
They had a good dog and the challenge was put
from (Herdown ??? a placename?) to Clare castle we'd see what she's worth
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

We took her down to (her mean???) and the coursing commenced
And in less than two courses the crowds was convinced
And in the final she led from the gate
To show the world she was best of the eight.
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

We went back to the pub with the cup and the prize.
There was fiddling and dancing I tell you no lies,
There was Guinness and gin flowing free from the tup
And everyone says that she was the best yet.
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

There was fortunes to be met (I don't hear 'made') we'd never go back,
So we headed to Galway to conquer the track.
When she saw the dummy she said 'tis a joke,
Do you think I'm a fool to run after that joke.
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

Well, then 'twas too late, for our money was on
We'd fifty-to-one at the sound of the gong
The trapsdoors flew up, and the greyhounds sprang o'er
She crept behind and she brought up the rear.
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

Well, we all had post-mortems on what might have been
And the creature looked lonely going over the line
But a lesson she taught us, of a valuable kind:
Don't ever give up, even though you're behind
With me fal-de-da-do
La fal-de-da la-dee-da la-dee-da-do
Fa la-de-da la-ta-dee-do

Well, that's it including the four missing verses as I hear them and some minor changes to Chris's transcription (I'm sure I have solved the ? in verse 5).

Wolfgang