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I'm Paddy Mills the Irish chap, I'm just across the sea,
For singing or for dancing, boys, I think I can please ye;
I can sing or dance with any man as I did in days of yore,
But on St. Patrick's Day I love to wear the hat my father wore.
Oh, it's old but it's beautiful the best you've ever seen,
It has been worn for more than 90 years in that little isle serene;
From my father's great ancestors it descended with a lore,
It's the relic of old decency, it's the hat my father wore.
I bid you all good evening, good luck to you I say,
And when I cross the ocean, I hope for me you'll pray;
For I'm going to my happy home in a place called Ballamoor,
To be welcomed back to Paddy's land with the hat my father wore.
And when I do return again the boys and girls to see,
I hopes with dear old Erin-style you'll kindly welcome me;
The sweet old songs of Paddy's land will cheer me more and more,
And make my Irish heart feel glad with the hat my father wore.
Sung by Angus "The Ridge" MacDonald (1866-1951) of Upper South River, Antigonish County, Cape Breton, NS, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
