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It was an evening in Roscrae, in the merry month of May,
When the roses and the heather were in bloom,
(They were in bloom)
A young lady passed me by and she gave me the glad eye,
By the bright silvery light of the moon.
Well I got an awful fright for it was true love at first sight,
And I thought I couldn't marry her too soon;
(For too soon)
We got tied up right away in an abbey near Roscrae,
By the bright silvery light of the moon.
Well it started getting late and she asked for me to wait,
And when I got up to the door of her bedroom,
(Of her bedroom)
Well there upon a chair was her teeth and golden hair,
By the bright silvery light of the moon.
Well there was more for me in store when she began to snore,
Oh, she nearly blew the blankets across the room;
And there upon a peg was her blessèd big wooden leg,
By the bright silvery light of the moon.
Well, I grabbed her by the head and I dragged her out of bed,
And like a broken doll she lay there in the gloom;
(All in the gloom)
It would break a million hearts for to see all her spare parts,
By the bright silvery light of the moon.
So young men take my advice, always look at the clear ones twice,
For they're always out to catch us poor gossoons;
Pull her teeth and pull her hair, for to make sure she's all there,
By the bright silvery light of the moon.
By the bright silvery light of the moon.
Recorded by Ryan's Fancy (Dark Island - A Portrait Of Ryan's Fancy, trk#9, ©1971, Audat Records, Oshawa, Ontario).
See more songs by Ryan's Fancy.
Notes from the Musical Tradition - Voice Of The People; Vol.16, No.7: Recorded on an early 78 rpm by Richard Hayward and reissued on Dejavu Retro Gold Collection: The Anthology of Traditional Irish Music R2CD 40-107. Also recorded by Packie Manus Byrne of Donegal, Ireland (Veteran VT132CD). English broadsides are known of the words which, it is believed, were composed by one J. W. Turner, 1847.
