Hi Jonathan, hi Dick,

I know this Irish drinking song as "Big Strong Man" or "Sylvest". Here are the words I know:

Big Styrong Man (Sylvest)

Have you heard about the big strong man; He lived in a caravan Have you heard about the Jeffrey Johnston fight; Oh what a hell of a fight You can take all the heavy weights you got; We gotta lad who will beat the whole lot He used to ring the bells in the belfry; Now he's gonna fight Jack Dempsey.

Chorus: Was me brother Sylvest; What's he got a row of forty medals on his chest He killed fifty bad men in the West; He knew no rest Think of the man; hell's fire; don't push; just shove; Plenty of room; For you and me. Got an arm like a leg and a punch that would sink a battle ship; big ship; Takes all the army and the navy to put the wind up Sylvest.

He thought he'd take a trip to Italy; He thought that he'd go by the sea. He dived off the harbour in New York; He swam like a great big shark. He saw the Lusitania in distress; Put the Lusitania on his chest, Drank all the water in the sea; He walked all the way to Italy.

Chorus:-

He thought he'd take a trip to old Japan; They brought out the big brass band, He played every every instrument they'd got; What a lad, he played the whole lot, The old church bell will ring; The old church choir will sing, They all turned out to say farewell, To my big brother Sylvest.

Sorry for errors, if any - this editor could be better. Chorus is rather difficult to write. If you need guitar chords or music, please let me know here at DT or just e-mail.

Bye