Dubliners – Galway Races

With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay

And as I rode out through Galway Town to seek for recreation
On the seventeenth of August, me mind being elevated
There were multitudes assembled with their tickets at the station
And me eyes began to dazzle and they’re going to see the races

With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay

There were passengers from Limerick and passengers from Nenagh
Passengers from Dublin and sportsmen from Tipperary
There were passengers from Kerry and all quarters of the nation
And our member Mr Hardy for to join the Galway Blazers

With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay

There were multitudes from Aran and members from New Quay shore
The boys from Connemara and the Clare unmarried maidens
People from Cork City who were loyal, true and faithful
They brought home the Fenian prisoners from dying in foreign nations

With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay

And it’s there you’ll see confectioners with sugarsticks and dainties
The lozenges and oranges, the lemonade and raisins
Gingerbread and spices to accomodate the ladies
And a big crubeen for thruppence to be suckin’ while you’re able

With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay

And it’s there you’ll see the gamblers, the thimbles and the garters
And the sporting Wheel of Fortune with the four and twenty quarters
There was others without scruple pelting wattles at poor Maggy
And her daddy well contented to be gawking at his daughter

With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay

And it’s there you’ll see the pipers and the fiddlers competing
The nimble-footed dancers and they trippin’ on the daisies
There was others shoutin’ cigars and lights and bills for all the races
With the colours of the jockey and the price and horses’ ages

With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay

And it’s there you’ll see the jockeys and they mounted on so stately
The pink, the blue, the orange and green, the emblem of our nation
When the bell was rung for starting all the horses seemed impatient
I thought they never stood on ground, their speed was so amazing

With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay

There was half a million people there of all denominations
The Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew and Presbyterian
There was yet no animosity no matter what persuasion
But fáilte and hospitality inducing Mr Paisley

With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay
With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay