DRUM COLLIHER*
(Percy French)
As recorded by The McNulty Family on Decca 12270 B, 1947. See Internet Archive.

1. I’ve been to a great many places
And wonderful sights I’ve seen,
From Agernavoe** to Ballinasloe
And back by Ballyporeen,
But when they talk of the towns that
Over the ocean lie,
When they say to me: “Pat, what do you think of that?”
I ups and says, says I:

CHORUS 1. “I suppose you’ve not been to Drumcolliher?
Ye haven’t? Well, now I declare
You must wait till you’ve been to Drumcolliher
And seen the fine place we have there.
There’s only one street in Drumcolliher,
But then ’tis a beauty to see.
Ye may talk till you’re dumb, but give me old Drum,
For Drum is the place for me.”

2. They say there are isles o’er the ocean
By India’s golden shore,
Where life all day long is a beautiful song
With flowers and fruits galore.
They say that the sun does be shining
With never a cloud in the sky,
But when they have done with their clouds and their sun,
I ups and I says, says I:

CHORUS 2. “I suppose you’ve not been to Drumcolliher?
Ye haven’t? Well, now I declare
You must wait till you’ve been to Drumcolliher
And seen the fine sun we have there.
There’s only one sun in Drumcolliher,
But then ’tis a glory to see.
You may talk till you’re dumb, but give me old Drum,
For Drum is the place for me.

3. I was over in London quite lately.
I gave King George a call.
Says the butler, “’E’s out; ‘e isn’t about
And I don’t see ‘is ‘at in the ‘all,
But if you’d like to look round, sir,
I think you will have to say
Apartments like these are not what one sees
In your countery every day.”

CHORUS 3. Says I: “Have ye been to Drumcolliher?
Ye haven’t? Well, now I declare
You must wait till you’ve come to Drumcolliher
And seen the fine house we have there.
There’s only one house in Drumcolliher
For hardware, bacon, and tea.
If your master would come we would treat him in Drum.
Oh! Drum is the place for me.

* It is spelled Drum Colliher on the record label, but lists of songs by Percy French spell it Drumcolliher. Wikipedia spells it Dromcolliher, which it says is the spelling favored by the Ordnance Survey and postal authorities. Wikipedia also mentions other spellings: Drumcollogher, Dromcollogher, Drumcolloher, Dromcolloher, Drumcullogher. The singer definitely pronounces “Drum” to rhyme with “come” and “dumb.”

** Ballinasloe and Ballyporeen are real places, but I can’t verify Agernavoe. The spelling appears in several online copies of the song lyrics.