Near Banbridge town in the county down
One morning last July
From a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín
And she smiled as she passed me by
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there
Chorus:
From Bantry bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the brown cailín
That I met in the county down
As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head
And I looked with a feelin' rare
And I says, says I, to a passer-by
"Who's the maid with the nut brown hair"?
He smiled at me and he says, says he
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann
She's the star of the county down"
Chorus:
From Bantry bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the brown cailín
That I met in the county down
At the harvest fair she'll be surely there
So I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
With my shoes shone bright and my hat c*cked
Right for a smile from my nut brown rose
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Till my plow turns rust coloured brown
Till a smiling bride, by my own fireside
Sits the star of the county down