Oh, I'm but a poor man, And I had but one cow, And when I had lost her I could not tell how, But so white was her face, And so sleek was her tail, That I thought my poor drimmin dubh Never would fail.
Returning from mass, On a morning in May, I met my poor drimmin dubh Drowning by the way. I roared and I brawled, And my neighbors did call To save my poor drimmin dubh, She being my all.
Ah, neighbor! was this not A sorrowful day, When I gazed on the water Where my drimmin dubh lay? With a drone and a drizzen, She bid me adieu. And the answer I made Was a loud pillalu
Poor drimmin dubh sank, And I saw her no more, Till I came to an island Was close by the shore; And down on that island I saw her again, Like a bunch of ripe blackberries Rolled in the rain.
Arrah, plague take you, drimmin dubh! What made you die, Or why did you leave me, For what and for why? I would rather lose Paudeen, My bouchalleen bawn, Than part with my drimmin dubh, Now that you are gone.
When drimmin dubh lived, And before she was dead, She gave me fresh butter To eat to my bread, And likewise new milk That I soaked with my scone, But now it's black water Since drimmin dubh's gone.
Source: Old Time Songs and Ballads of Ireland: A Repository of Ancient Irish Songs and Ballads - Comprising Patriotic, Descriptive, Historical and Humorous Gems, Characteristic of the Irish Race. Compiled and Arranged by Manus O'Conor (New York: The Popular Publishing Company, No. 355 Broadway, 1901), p.19