Donegal Danny    (Listen to sample)

 

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1. I remember the night that he came in

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    from the wintry cold and damp.

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    A giant of a man in an oilskin coat

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    and a bundle that told he was a tramp

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    He stood at the bar and he called a pint,

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     then turned and gazed at the fire.

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    "On a night like this to be safe and dry,

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    is my one and only desire."

 

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So here's to those that are dead and gone,

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the friends that I loved dear.

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And here's to you and I'll bid you adieu,

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saying Donegal Danny's been here me boys,

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Donegal Danny's been here.

 

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2. Then in a voice that was hushed and low,

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    he said 'Listen I'll tell you a tale,

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    how a man of the sea became a man of the roads,

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    and never more will set sail.

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    I've fished out of Howth and Killybegs, Ardglass and Baltimore.

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    But the cruel sea has beaten me,

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     and I'll end my days on the shore."   + CHORUS

 

 

 

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3. One fateful night in the wind and the rain,

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    we set sail from Killybegs town.

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    There were five of us from sweet Donegal,

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    and one from County Down.

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    We were fishermen who worked the sea,

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    and never counted the cost.

                                                 Bm

    But I never thought ere that night was done,

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    that my fine friends would all be lost.  + CHORUS

 

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4. Then the storm it broke and drove the boat,

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    to the rocks about ten miles from shore.

                                            Bm

    As we fought the tide we hoped inside,

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    to see our homes once more.

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    Then we struck a rock and holed the bow,

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    and all of us knew that she'd go down.

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    So we jumped right into the icy sea,

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    and prayed to God we wouldn't drown.

 

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5. But the raging sea was rising still,

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    as we struck out for the land.

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    And she fought with all her cruelty,

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    to claim that gallant band.

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    By St John's Point in the early dawn,

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    I dragged myself on the shore.

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    And I cursed the sea for what she'd done,

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    and vowed to sail her never more.   + CHORUS

 

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6. Ever since that night I've been on the road,

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    travelling and trying to forget,

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    that awful night I lost all my friends, I see their faces yet.

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    And often at night when the sea is high,

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    and the rain is tearing at my skin,

                                 Bm

   I hear the cries of drowning men,

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   floating over on the wind'.  + CHORUS + So!  + CHORUS

 

    (Dubliners)