The Missing Train

Did you hear the latest news, boys
It really is great crack
A train was pinched in Donegal
and they cannot get it back.

Where do you think did it go boys,
Or did it really stray?
The Peelers are out searching for it
both night and day.

The Peelers think they know boys,
In fact I heard one say
The Dillons have it hidden
Beneath some stacks of hay.

Where have you got the train, Joe,
and where did you put the track.
Will you keep it all the time Joe
Or will you bring it back.

How did you get it here, Joe?
Did you carry it on your back,
or did you take it all to pieces
and bring it in a sack?

Will you take me for a ride Joe
among the Antrim Glens?
I'll travel in the Guard's van
and wave to all our friends

We'll travel through historic scenes
and home by Cushendall
In the rebel train that's missing
From Royal Donegal.

PS. The rebel train was a railway train, commandeered in 1920 by the IRA for reasons of their own to the great discomfiture of the British government, their servants and associates.


This lyric, written in an old-fashioned hand and attributed to Joe Dillon, is reproduced in the booklet to Kila's CD "Lemonade and Buns" (Green Linnet, 2000) where it accompanies a tune called "Where did ya Hide That Train, Joe?", written by Eoin Dillon (a descendant, perhaps?) et al.

I'd love to have any information about the song, the incident it describes, or about Joe Dillon.

Cheers,
Michael