[Verse 1]
McCormack and Richard Tauber
Are singing by the bed
There's a glass of punch below your feet
And an angel at your head
There's devils on each side of you
With bottles in their hands
You need one more drop of poison
And you'll dream of foreign lands

[Verse 2]
When you pissed yourself in Frankfurt
And got syph down in Cologne
And you heard the rattling death trains
As you lay there all alone
Frank Ryan bought your whiskey
In a brothel in Madrid
And you decked some fucking blackshirt
Who was cursing all the Yids

[Chorus]
At the sick bed of Cúchulainn
We'll kneel and say a prayer
But the ghosts are rattling at the door
And the devil's in the chair

[Verse 3]
And in the Euston Tavern
You screamed it was your shout
But they wouldn't give you service
So you kicked the windows out
They took you out into the street
Kicked you in the brains
So you walked back in through a bolted door
And did it all again

[Chorus]
At the sick bed of Cúchulainn
We'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door
And the devil's in the chair

[Verse 4]
You remember that foul evening
When you heard the banshees howl
There was lousy drunken bastards
Singing "Billy in the Bowl"
They took you up to midnight mass
Left you in the lurch
So you dropped a button in the plate
And spewed up in the church

[Verse 5]
Now you'll sing a song of liberty
For Blacks and Paks and Jocks
And they'll take you from this dump you're in
And stick you in a box
Then they'll take you to Cloughprior
And shove you in the ground
But you'll stick your head back out and shout
"We'll have another round"

[Chorus]
At the graveside of Cúchulainn
We'll kneel around and pray
And God is in His heaven
And Billy's down by the bay

[Verse 1]
When I first came to London, I was only sixteen
With a fiver in my pocket and my old dancing bag
I went down to the 'dilly to check out the scene
But I soon ended up upon the old main drag

[Verse 2]
There the he-males and the she-males paraded in style
And the old man with the money would flash you a smile
In the dark of an alley, you would work for a five
For a swift one off the wrist down on the old main drag

[Verse 3]
In the cold winter nights, the old town, it was chill
But there were boys in the cafés who'd give you cheap pills
If you didn't have the money, you'd cajole and you'd beg
There was always lots of Tuinal on the old main drag

[Verse 4]
One evening as I was lying down in Leicester Square
I was picked up by the coppers and kicked in the balls
Between the metal doors at Vine Street, I was beaten and mauled
And they ruined my good looks for the old main drag

[Verse 5]
In the tube station, the old ones who were on the way out
Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout
And the coppers would come along and push them about
And I wished I could escape from the old main drag

[Verse 6]
And now I'm lying here, I have had too much booze
I've been spat on and shat on and raped and abused
I know that I am dying and I wish I could beg
For some money to take me from the old main drag

[Verse 1]
Oh, my name is Jock Stewart, I'm a canny gaun man
And a roving young fellow I've been
So be easy and free when you're drinkin' with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

[Verse 2]
I have acres of land, I have men at command
I have always a shilling to spare
So be easy and free when you're drinkin' with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

[Verse 3]
So come fill up your glasses of brandy and wine
Whatever it costs, I will pay
So be easy and free when you're drinkin' with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

[Verse 4]
Well, I took out my dog and him I did shoot
All down in the county Kildare
So be easy and free when you're drinkin' with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

[Verse 3]
So come fill up your glasses of brandy and wine
Whatever it costs, I will pay
So be easy and free when you're drinkin' with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

[Refrain]
So be easy and free when you're drinkin' with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

[Verse 1]
One summer evening, drunk to hell
I sat there nearly lifeless
An old man in the corner sang
"Where the Water Lilies Grow"
And on the jukebox, Johnny sang
About a thing called love
And it's "How are you, kid ' and "What's your name "
And "How'd you bloody know

[Verse 2]
In blood and death, 'neath a screaming sky
I laid down on the ground
And the arms and legs of other men
Were scattered all around
Some cursed, some prayed, some prayed, then cursed
Then prayed, then bled some more
And the only thing that I could see
Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me
But when we got back, labeled parts one to three
There was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me

[Chorus]
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go
For a pair of brown eyes

[Verse 3]
I looked at him, he looked at me
All I could do was hate him
While Ray and Philomena sang
Of my elusive dreams
I saw the streams, the rolling hills
Where his brown eyes were waiting
And I thought about a pair of brown eyes
That waited once for me

[Verse 4]
So drunk to hell, I left the place
Sometimes crawling, sometimes walking
A hungry sound came across the breeze
So I gave the walls a talking
And I heard the sounds of long ago
From the old canal
And the birds were whistling in the trees
Where the wind was gently laughing

[Chorus]
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go
A rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go
For a pair of brown eyes, for a pair of brown eyes

[Chorus]
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go
And a rovin', a rovin', a rovin' I'll go
For a pair of brown eyes, for a pair of brown eyes

[Verse 1]
Well, Jimmy played harmonica in the pub where I was born
He played it from the night time to the peaceful early morn'
He soothed the souls of psychos and the men who had the horn
And they all looked very happy in the morning

[Verse 2]
But Jimmy didn't like his place in this world of ours
Where the elephant man broke strong men's necks when he'd had too many Powers
So sad to see the grieving of the people that he's leaving
And he took the road for God knows in the morning

[Pre-Chorus]
We walked him to the station in the rain
We kissed him as we put him on the train
And we sang him a song of times long gone
Though we knew that we'd be seeing him again

[Chorus]
(Far away!)
I'm sad to say I must be on my way
So buy me beer or whiskey, 'cause I'm going far away
(Far away!)
I'd like to think of me returning when I can
To the greatest little boozer and to Sally MacLennane

[Verse 3]
The years passed by, the times had changed, I grew to be a man
I learned to love the virtues of sweet Sally MacLennane
I took the jeers and drank the beers and crawled back home at dawn
And ended up a barman in the morning

[Verse 4]
I played the pump and took the hump and watered whiskey down
I talked of whores and horses to the men who drank the brown
I heard them say that Jimmy's making money far away
And some people left for heaven without warning

[Pre-Chorus]
We walked him to the station in the rain
We kissed him as we put him on the train
And we sang him a song of times long gone
Though we knew that we'd be seeing him again

[Chorus]
(Far away!)
I'm sad to say I must be on my way
So buy me beer or whiskey cause I'm going far away
(Far away!)
I'd like to think of me returning when I can
To the greatest little boozer and to Sally MacLennane

[Verse 4]
When Jimmy came back home
He was surprised that they were gone
He asked me all the details
Of the train that they went on
Some people they are scared to croak
But Jimmy drank until he choked
Took the road for heaven in the morning

[Pre-Chorus]
We walked him to the station in the rain
We kissed him as we put him on the train
And we sang him a song of times long gone
Though we knew that we'd be seeing him again

[Chorus]
(Far away!)
I'm sad to say I must be on my way
So buy me beer or whiskey cause I'm going far away
(Far away!)
I'd like to think of me returning when I can
To the greatest little boozer and to Sally MacLennane

[Refrain]
To the greatest little boozer and to Sally MacLennane

[Verse 1]
I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town, dirty old town

[Verse 2]
Clouds are drifting across the moon
Cats are prowling on their beat
Spring's a girl from the streets at night
Dirty old town, dirty old town

[Verse 3]
I heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
I smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town, dirty old town

[Verse 4]
I'm gonna make me a big sharp axe
Shining steel tempered in the fire
I'll chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town, dirty old town

[Verse 1]
I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town, dirty old town
Dirty old town, dirty old town

[Verse 1]
Jesse James, we understand, has killed him many a man
He robbed the Union trains
He stole from the rich, he gave to the poor
He had a hand and a heart and a brain

[Verse 2]
Well, it was on Saturday night, the stars were shining bright
They robbed the Glendale train
And the people they did say for many miles away
It was those outlaws Frank and Jesse James

[Chorus]
Now Jesse had a wife, lived a lady all her life
Her children, they were brave
Ah, but history does record that Bob and Charlie Ford
Have laid poor Jesse in his grave

[Verse 3]
Well, it was Bob and Charlie Ford, those dirty little cowards
I wonder how they feel
For they ate of Jesse's bread, they slept in Jesse's bed
They laid poor Jesse in his grave

[Chorus]
Now Jesse had a wife, lived a lady all her life
Her children, they were brave
Ah, but history does record that Bob and Charlie Ford
Have laid poor Jesse in his grave

[Chorus]
Now Jesse had a wife, lived a lady all her life
Her children, they were brave
Ah, but history does record that Bob and Charlie Ford
Have laid poor Jesse in his grave

[Verse 4]
Well, the people held their breath, they heard of Jesse's death
They wondered how he come to fall
It was Robert Ford, in fact, who shot him in the back
While he hung a picture on the wall

[Chorus]
Now Jesse had a wife, lived a lady all her life
Her children, they were brave
Ah, but history does record that Bob and Charlie Ford
Have laid poor Jesse in his grave

[Refrain]
Well, history does record that Bob and Charlie Ford
Have laid poor Jesse, laid poor Jesse
Have laid Jesse James in his grave

[Verse 1]
The canals and the bridges, the embankments and cuts
They blasted and dug with their sweat and their guts
They never drank water, but whiskey by pints
And the shanty towns rang with their songs and their fights

[Chorus]
Navigator, navigator, rise up and be strong
The morning is here and there's work to be done
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes, to shift a few tons of this earthly delight

[Verse 2]
They died in their hundreds with no sign to mark where
Save the brass in the pocket of the entrepreneur
By landslide and rock blast, they got buried so deep
That in death, if not life, they'll have peace while they sleep

[Chorus]
Navigator, navigator, rise up and be strong
The morning is here and there's work to be done
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes, to shift a few tons of this earthly delight

[Verse 3]
Their mark on this land is still seen and still laid
The way for a commerce where vast fortunes were made
The supply of an empire where the sun never set
Which is now deep in darkness, but the railway's there yet

[Chorus]
Navigator, navigator, rise up and be strong
The morning is here and there's work to be done
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes, to shift a few tons of this earthly delight

[Verse 1]
Billy ran around with the rare old crew
And he knew an Arsenal from Tottenham blue
We'd be a darn sight better off if we knew
Where Billy's bones are resting now

[Verse 2]
Billy saw a copper and he hit him in the knee
And he took him down from six foot to five foot three
Then he hit him fair and square in the do-re-mi
That copper won't be having any family

[Chorus]
Hey Billy son, where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now

[Verse 3]
Billy went away with the peace-keeping force
'Cause he liked a bloody good fight, of course
Went away in an old khaki van
To the banks of the river Jordan

[Verse 4]
Billy saw the Arabs and he had 'em on the run
When he got 'em in the range of his sub-machine gun
Then he had the Israelis in his sights, went a ra-ta-ta
And they ran like shites

[Chorus]
Hey Billy son, where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now

[Chorus]
Hey Billy son, where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now

[Verse 5]
One night Billy had a rare old time
Laughing and singing on the Lebanon line
Came back to camp not looking too pretty
Never even got to see the Holy City

[Verse 6]
Now Billy's out there in the desert sun
And his mother cries when the morning comes
And there's mothers crying all over this world
For their poor dead darling boys and girls

[Chorus]
Hey Billy son, where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now

[Outro]
Have a Billy holiday
Born on a Monday
Married on a Tuesday
Drunk on a Wednesday
Got plugged on a Thursday
Sick on a Friday
Died on a Saturday
Buried on a Sunday

[Verse 1]
It's of a gentleman soldier, as a sentry he did stand
He saluted a fair maiden by a waving of his hand
So then he boldly kissed her and he passed it off as a joke
He drilled her up in the sentry box, wrapped up in a soldier's cloak

[Chorus]
And the drums are going a rap a tap tap
And the fifes they loudly play
Fare thee well, Polly, my dear
I must be going away

All night they tossed and tumbled 'til the morning did appear
The soldier rose, put on his clothes and said "Farewell, my dear
For the drums are loudly beating and the fifes they sweetly play
If it weren't for that, Polly, my dear, with you, I'd gladly stay"

[Chorus]
And the drums are going a rap a tap tap
And the fifes they loudly play
Fare thee well, Polly, my dear
I must be going away

[Verse 3]
"If anyone comes a courting you, you can treat them to a glass
If anyone comes a courting you, you can say you're a country lass
You don't have to tell them that you ever played this joke
That you got drilled in a sentry box wrapped up in a soldier's cloak"

[Chorus]
And the drums are going a rap a tap tap
And the fifes they loudly play
Fare thee well, Polly, my dear
I must be going away

[Verse 4]
"Now come you, gentleman soldier, won't you marry me
"Oh no, my dearest Polly, this thing can never be
For I've a wife already, children, I have three
Two wives are allowed in the army, but one's too many for me"

[Chorus]
And the drums are going a rap a tap tap
And the fifes they loudly play
Fare thee well, Polly, my dear
I must be going away

[Verse 5]
"Oh come, my gentleman soldier, why didn't you tell me so
Me parents will be angry when this they come to know"
When nine months had been and gone, the poor girl she brought shame
She had a little militia boy and she didn't know his name

[Chorus]
And the drums are going a rap a tap tap
And the fifes they loudly play
Fare thee well, Polly, my dear
I must be going away

[Chorus]
And the drums are going a rap a tap tap
And the fifes they loudly play
Fare thee well, Polly, my dear
I must be going away

[Verse 1]
When I was a young man, I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over

[Verse 2]
Then in 1915, my country said, "Son
It's time to stop rambling, 'cause there's work to be done"
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war

[Chorus 1]
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off for Gallipoli

[Verse 3]
How well I remember that terrible day
When the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter

[Verse 4]
Johnny Turk, he was ready, he primed himself well
He showered us with bullets and he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia

[Chorus]
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again

[Verse 5]
Now those who were living did their best to survive
In that mad world of death, blood, and fire
And for seven long weeks, I kept myself alive
While the corpses around me piled higher

[Verse 6]
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, Christ, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying

[Chorus 3]
And no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
To the green bushes so far and near
For to hang tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

[Verse 7]
So they collected the cripples, the wounded and maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind and insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla

[Verse 8]
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity

[Chorus 4]
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
And they turned their faces away

[Verse 9]
And now every April, I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving their dreams of past glory

[Verse 10]
I see the old men, all twisted and torn
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask me, "What are they marching for "
And I ask myself the same question

[Chorus 5]
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year, their numbers get fewer
Someday no one will march there at all

[Outro]
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a-waltzing Matilda with me