Print This Page#01510 Print This Page
As Jack was a-walking a fair Bristol street,
A beautiful damsel he chanced for to meet;
And this she was saying, oh, as he passed by:
"If you wants to buy liquor, come buy bung-'er-eye."
And sing fall the doll-a-laddie, fall a loo lair all day.
To purchase a basket was Jack's next intent,
To have a spree on it he was fully bent;
And twenty bright shillings he paid there and then,
He took up the basket and staggered along.
And sing fall the doll-a-laddie, fall a loo lair all day.
He staggered along till he came to his ship:
"Get up, brother shipmates, and let's have a drink!
Get up, brother shipmates, and drink when you're dry,
The best of good liquor they call bung-'er-eye."
And sing fall the doll-a-laddie, fall a loo lair all day.
To open the basket was Jack's next intent,
To have a spree on it he was fully bent;
When he opened the basket he heard a child cry,
Rolled up in the blanket was young Bung-'er-eye!
And sing fall the doll-a-laddie, fall a loo lair all day.
His shipmates they laughed, Jack cussed and he swore:
"I never saw the babe or its mother before;
But since I'm the daddy sure I'll have to try,
For to make a man out of young Bung-'er-eye."
And sing fall the doll-a-laddie, fall a loo lair all day.
To get the lad christened was Jack's next intent,
And off to the parson he instantly went.
"And now," says the parson, "we'll christen your b'y,
What is his name?" -- Says Jack, "Bung-'er-eye".
And sing fall the doll-a-laddie, fall a loo lair all day.
"Begar!" says the parson, "now that's a queer name."
"Begar, sir!" says Jack, "it's queer way he came;
When I was out walking my sea-stock to buy,
Got tricked in the liquor and bought Bung-'er-eye!"
And sing fall the doll-a-laddie, fall a loo lair all day.
Collected in 1952 from Gordon Willis (1911-2001) of St. John's, NL, by Ken Peacock and published in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 3, pp.895-896, by The National Museum Of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved. A variant was also sung by Jacob Noseworthy of Pouch Cove, NL, and published as Bung Your Eye in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
Kenneth Peacock noted that 'bung-'er-eye' is usually pronounced 'bung-yer-eye' or 'bung-your-eye.' It is an old sailing term for strong rum or any hard liquor.
