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There was a brave young high'man and the story we will tell,
His name was Willie Brennan and in Ireland he did dwell;
'Twas on the Gilbert Mountains he commenced his wild career,
And everyone looked him over and before him shook with fear.
It's young Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor;
Brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
One day o'er on the highway as Willie he went down,
He met the mayor of Cashel a mile outside of town;
The mayor he knew his features and he said, "Young man," said he,
"Your name be Willie Brennan, you must come along with me."
It's young Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor;
Brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
Now Willie's wife had gone to town some vittles for to buy,
And when she saw her Willie she commenced to weave and cry;
"Come hand to me the tenpenny!" As soon as Willie spoke,
She handed him a blunderbuss from underneath her cloak.
It's young Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor;
Brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
Now with this loaded blunderbuss, the truth I will unfold,
He made the mayor to tremble and he robbed him of his gold;
One hundred pounds was offered for his apprehension there,
And he with horse and saddle to the mountains did repair.
It's young Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor;
Brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
Brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
This variant arranged and recorded by His Nibs, Harry Hibbs.
See more songs by Harry Hibbs.
A variant was recorded as Brennan On The Moor by the Clancy Brothers (Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, 1996).
See more songs by the Clancy Brothers.
A variant was also recorded by McGinty (Ballads & Bar Tunes, Rocky Coast Music Inc, Halifax, NS, 1994).
A variant was collected by MacEdward Leach (The Ballad Book, pp.745-747, A.S.Barnes, New York, 1955).
According to notes accompanying the archived broadside ballad, Bold Brannan On The Moor at the National Library of Scotland, this is a version of a well known folksong about the adventures of William Brennan, an 18th century highwayman who operated around the Kilworth area in County Cork, Ireland, and was hanged at Cork in 1804.
