By The Bright Silvery Light Of The Moon

It was one evening in Roscrae, in the merry month of May,
When the roses and the heather 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; it was true-love at first sight,
And I thought I couldn't marry her too soon;
We got married right away in the abbey near Roscrae,
By the bright silvery light of the moon.

Well, it started getting late and she asked me for to wait,
And when I got up to the door 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 cross the room;
And there upon a peg was a great 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;
It would break a million hearts to see all of her spare parts,
By the bright silvery light of the moon.

So, young men, take my advice, always look at the lady's twice,
For they're always out to catch us poor gossoons;
Pull her teeth and pull her hair, just to see if she's all there,
By the bright silvery light of the moon.

####.... J. W. Turner, 1847 (See notes below) ....####

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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.