Last Night, as I was Wandering 1. Only Jesus Knows   2. As I Went Up to Redmond's Hill 3. Crookedwood 4. Do Not Revel in Your Woe 5. In the Watches of the Night 6. Scaldbrother’s Ghost 7. The Night They Drank the River (instrumental) 8. The Ballad of Booze and Bedragglement 9. Waiting for Joe   10. The Debtors’ Jail 11. I Fell into Old Ways 12. Broombridge Incident (instrumental) 13. Lament for Black Head 14. Goodnight to You, One and All We Drank Our Tears 1. On the Evening of the Epiphany 2. A Husband's Prayer 3. Of all the Things I Brought with Me 4. Idler's Lament 5. On a May Morning 6. I Think There's Somewhere Else I'd Rather Be 7. Don't Be Afraid Anymore 8. The Place Where Fortune Hides 9. Poor Old Johnny 10. I Met a lot of People along the Way 11. The Rowing Boat Song   12. After this Low   Last Night, as I was Wandering 1. Only Jesus Knows Last night, as I lay dreaming I dreamt I fell into the river from the quay And my body went to Heaven But my soul drifted out to sea I went twice around the Black Church And the Devil did appear I awoke down in May Oblong’s house With a bad case of the fear And only Jesus knows Where the Devil fears to go I dreamed that I met Frank Duff I said to him ‘Good night’ He said, ‘I can give you Jesus If you repent to me this night’ He said, ‘Deep below the city There are deep and hidden caves And in the deepest of these unholy sites Somebody wrote "Jesus Saves" But only Jesus knows Where the Devil fears to go’ Last night, as I lay dreaming I dreamt I fell into James’ Well May Oblong was there to great me When I awoke down in Hell She said, ‘Choose your ideals carefully For one day you must prove them true And be careful who you follow For one day they will follow you And only Jesus knows Where the Devil fears to go’ top 2. As I Went Up to Redmond's Hill As I went up to Redmond’s Hill At the croaking of the day Desirous in my heart To be upon my way Out of this fulsome town Her feculent river turning brown I went to get Conroy But Conroy was gone His mother said he left With the setting of the sun I said to her Conroy would be fine He had long planned to leave this place behind To tell the truth I was more worried about myself The state of my pockets And my uncertain health I was not fit for one so young There was something clicking in my lung I thought, ‘Where would I be Without Conroy by my side? My guru, my mentor, My brother, my guide’ I remembered something he had said That filled me full of hope as much as dread ‘They will want you They will want you They will want you to lay down But do not lay down’ Somewhere I found The resolve to go on Despite my fears Of Conroy being gone I gathered up My lazy man’s load And made my arrangements For the road I calmed myself That I knew where he would rove West to Naas And south to Cobh Westward out of here Past Baltimore and Cape Clear I went to see my father To say goodbye The bridge it shook beneath me The river it was high He said, ‘When Peter stands in front of you Only the virtuous souls will pass through And they will want you They will want you They will want you to lay down But do not lay down’ The past is a place That most will choose to flee Show compassion When you come to hear their plea Do not strip them of their dignity Nor demonise those who wish to be free I remembered something That Conroy had read In those dark books He kept beside his bed ‘They will curse your will to survive And they will mock your attempts to strive And they will want you They will want you They will want you to lay down But do not lay down’ As I went up to Redmond’s Hill At the croaking of the day top 3. Crookedwood Come all you young sinners And gather round Till I tell ye of the day That I alighted in the town It was under James Connolly’s Statue I stood Far from my hometown Crookedwood The jewel of the Midlands On the edge of the lake Where the children of Lir Their hearts did break I had heard of the city I heard it was no good I swore I’d never leave Crookedwood But a job is a job Is a job is a job They will leave you your soul But your time they will rob It’s that Faustian pact I never understood But that is was what took me From my beloved Crookedwood The office was full Of those prosaic souls In love with the greyness Resigned in their roles Who came into this world And got stuck in the mud A thousand light years From Crookedwood I had been up all day When they gave me the keys To the room with the files I got down on my knees For I knew administration Was always in my blood Ever since I was a young boy In the fields of Crookedwood The boys in the boardroom They stood around and posed And pissed the company down the drain In their Brown Thomas clothes And when they moved me sideways I knew things were not good I wished they had moved me Back home to Crookedwood You know, they delegated Jesus And they sent him down to earth He died for our sins And he took away our hurt One day he will return And with him the flood To wash away those posh boys And me back to Crookedwood top 4. Do Not Revel in Your Woe On the evening of the night That I called it a day I had headed down the wrong road It had all gone astray I had reached my nadir I had hit a new low When I heard a voice say to me ‘Do not revel in your woe’ Five years in the basement I had the mildew on my arms And the bachelors’ lifestyle I grew weary of its charms One day she came to me And said, ‘There is something you should know You won’t see nothing in the basement You’ll just revel in your woe’ Out cold on the in-tray Shivering hard like a wreck I went to see the captain Sun himself up on the deck I said, ‘Can you tell me how long I must suffer down below?’ He said, ‘It’s none of your concern Just do not revel in your woe’ Monday is a tyrant Sworn to tell you you’re alone But the weekend has a tyranny That’s all its very own That clock ticks on Friday Till the cock it will crow And you’re back in there struggling Not to revel in your woe Hard learning is something That you must accept with grace When faith lifts its finger And spits in your face Though the night will seem endless And the dawn will come slow You will be rewarded Do no revel in your woe Your man up the road In a house I’ve never been He’s got a bitterness in his heart The likes of which you’ve never seen One day he tried to woo me there I knew I could not go I had to keep on moving Let him revel in his woe They will come and they will test you They will meddle with your soul They will point up to Heaven While they dig you a hole When they come calling Tell them what you know That they cannot crush your spirit Do not revel in your woe top 5. In the Watches of the Night Frankie left in the watches of the night. He took his TV and his favourite coat and left the rest of the detritus of his dissolute lifestyle scattered across the floor. No, I don’t think he liked me much. Of all the years we lived together, I’d hide in my room like some diffident ghost, afraid to come out and rattle my chains till everybody’s gone to work. I should have listened to my father. He said, ‘Never live with someone who was born in a bar, it’ll only end in tears.’ I never knew where the women came from—they called at all hours, I gave them tea and sympathy, nodded my head sagely and sent them on their way. I sometimes wonder where he is now. I heard he was back in Belcoo, or working in a bar in Queens or The Bronx. It’s inevitable we meet again at some funeral in the suburbs. We will shake with sorry hands, humbled by the great leveller. I sometimes wonder where the recalcitrant souls go when they’re thrown out of the world, with no patience for Purgatory and no reference for the Lord. top 6. Scaldbrother’s Ghost I was drunk on my father’s best whiskey When I passed out on the street I awoke sometime in the evening Where the ghosts of night-ladies meet I don’t remember leaving But I remember in Saint Paul’s There were fourteen pictures of Jesus And I betrayed him in them all I remembered being in the brewery I saw her, she was there She was dancing with the ghost of Scaldbrother And on her there was not a care Tell me, can you save me? Can you save me from myself? I am half the man without her And that man is somebody else There’s a drunkard living in my shoes There’s a coward in my head There’s a man who stinks like a sailor And he wants to take to his bed Once I was a bachelor And I’d do as I’d please But I’m drunk again with the ghosts of my past And I can’t get up off my knees Tell me, can you save me? Can you save me from myself? I am half the man without her and that man is somebody else So take me up to Monto Cos I don’t care any more I’ve got half a crown’s worth of loneliness And Bella Cohen is waiting at the door Can you hear the hops? They are brewing Can you smell the wind turn brown? If I ever crawl out of this tomb I promise I won’t turn round Tell me, can you save me? Can you save me from myself? I am half the man without her And that man is somebody else top 8. The Ballad of Booze and Bedragglement Well, sit down friend and I’ll tell you a tale It reeks of whiskey and the beer gone stale It’s the long sad story of where my youth went I spent it on booze and bedragglement I lived in the basement, the Devil ate my food He’d sit in the corner and he’d belch and he’d brood I never got the money that I had lent He spent it on booze and bedragglement Back in those days I didn’t get much sleep The living was hard and the drink it was cheap But a rise in inflation is something you resent When you’re living on booze and bedragglement Once I was holy, I was holy no more And Jesus sat crying and scratching at the door But I fell asleep one evening and I slept through Lent I was living on booze and bedragglement Back then I was idle, I did not do much I wasn’t too good at the keeping in touch But she got a letter that I never sent It said, ‘I’m living on booze and bedragglement’ Once I had dreams but they went to the wall But I never did miss the last-orders call One nod at the barman and he knew what I meant I was living on booze and bedragglement I’d been a wild rover for many a year But I never got further than Dun Laoghaire Pier We talked about going, but we never went We were living on booze and bedragglement I lived through the hard times, I lived through the boom One day the landlord threw me out of my rooms He said, ‘It’s your own fucking problem if you can’t pay the rent Cos you spent it on booze and bedragglement’ So now my young friend, you’ve heard what I’ve done Take heed of my advice, take heed, my son If you waste your best years one day you will repent All the living on booze and bedragglement All the living on booze and bedragglement top 9. Waiting for Joe Well, they say one day that Jesus is gonna come He’s gonna save us all, he’s gonna take us home When the world is at an end and the hurricanes blow We’ll all be standing around waiting for Joe Well he gave me a call, said he’d take me out And he’d generously treat me to a pint of stout I’m still waiting, that was four years ago I seem to spend my life waiting for Joe I’m waiting for Joe I’m waiting for Joe I’ve got nowhere to go I’m just waiting for Joe Well the bar-room is empty and the night is still I’ve got nothing to do but drink my fill I said to the barman, ‘It’s unusually slow’ He said, ‘Everybody’s at home They’re sick of waiting for Joe’ But I’m waiting for Joe I’m waiting for Joe I’ve got nowhere to go I’m just waiting for Joe Well I guess some people are born to be late And the rest of us were born to sit around and wait But I’m telling you it’s lucky, I’ve got nowhere else to go Cos I’m gonna spend eternity, waiting for Joe I’m waiting for Joe I’m waiting for Joe I’ve got nowhere to go I’m just waiting for Joe top 10. The Debtors’ Jail I’m in the debtors’ jail I’m in the debtors’ jail It’s called the Marshalsea In this refuge for the feckless That stretches along the quay Lord have mercy Lord have mercy If you’ve any left to show I’ll show more sorrow and contrition Than any man could know This cold stone Chills my Spanish blood Right down to my bones And the spendthrifts and the blackguards Will not leave me alone I’m in the debtors’ jail I’m in the debtors’ jail It’s called the Marshalsea I spend my days now, bent in long prayer That you will forgive me In the Palace Of Saint Sepulchre I lay my cards down Now Buck Whaley and his cohorts They wait for me in the town I’m in the debtors’ jail I’m in the debtors’ jail It’s called the Marshalsea I spend my days now, bent in long prayer That you will not follow me top 11. I Fell into Old Ways I took a fifty from her purse And went to Sean Malone’s I bade him good evening And repaid him the loans He said, ‘I didn’t expect To see you round here these days’ I said, ‘Neither did I But I fell into old ways’ I fell asleep at the piano In the Brookes Hotel The porter he woke me And he gave me hell I expected applause And anticipated praise But in my heart I knew I fell into old ways Down in The Garden Of Forgetfulness I told them the tale Of the rake’s progress All along I travelled Into that sweet malaise It seemed my soul yearned To fall into old ways Tomorrow morning’s pockets Are the ones who will know Where it is that you’ve been And where you’re bound to go I looked into the future And I saw a haze And I knew I was destined To fall into old ways So someone tell the Lord I’m an Indian giver I gave him my soul But I’m taking back my liver And the ghost of Matt Talbot He kneels down and prays ‘Christ do not let me Fall into old ways’ I know she will forgive me When I return home With the change of a fifty And the lines from a poem Some ancient Celtic paean To dissolute days She will smell me and know I fell into old ways top 13. Lament for Black Head When the lights come on, on Foley Street The Lord takes to his bed With his brandy flask full of Hennessy and rum And his soul full of fear and dread Cos this town is a feckless sailor That never made it back on board Spent his wages down in Meg Arnot’s house Then he fell upon his sword And when the wind it is howling The moon’s Christian name The shadows they move slow To avoid the gaze of the ghosts who walk The waysides down below And your man upstairs was a drunkard At night I could hear him fall One January, wet, I returned to my rooms To find him out cold in the hall He said, ‘I wish that I was standing Down there upon Black Head Let the ghosts of Kelly’s Corner Take to their lonely beds And when the wind it is howling The moon’s Christian name The shadows they move slow To avoid the gaze of the ghosts who walk The waysides down below’ It was underneath the Onion Tower That they beat him about the head When they found him beneath the old pear tree He was not much more than dead Some say that the best revenge Is living good and living well While others say it’s imagining the bastards’ souls As they burn down in Hell And when the wind it is howling The moon’s Christian name The shadows they move slow To avoid the gaze of the ghosts who walk The waysides down below top 14. Goodnight to You, One and All It never rained in this town Till Jesus was betrayed The politicians were in the lobby They were waiting to get paid They threw me out of Buswell’s So I slept outside the Dáil I said, ‘Goodnight to you, one and all’ The Sacred Heart of Monto Is looking down upon me now I said, ‘When I return we will kill that pig And slay that fatted cow There will be an end to drudgery And we will have a ball’ I said, ‘Goodnight to you, one and all’ I pledge my allegiance To the barstaff, the brewery The vintners, the publican And any man who will cure me My soul is sipping Green Spot At the bar in Tailor’s Hall I said, ‘Goodnight to you, one and all’ I am not the only drunkard To grow older at this bar Telling tales of Illinois And sleeping in the car That night I stayed in Collinsville I dreamt I was in Youghal I said, ‘Goodnight to you, one and all’ I’ve been north, I’ve been south I’ve been east and I’ve been west From the hallowed Hill of Tara To where Boss Croker is laid to rest All across the ocean To Tammany Hall I said, ‘Goodnight to you, one and all’ When I left the Cashel Palace I went to the Falls Hotel It was there that I met Róisín She loved me well Till she ran off with a poet Draped in Biddy Early’s shawl I said, ‘Goodnight to you, one and all’ On the boat-train to Euston I did not have to ask A distant heir of Arthur Price Handed me his flask He said, ‘Where we are going Fortune awaits us all’ I said, ‘Goodnight to you, one and all’ top We Drank Our Tears 1. On the Evening of the Epiphany on the evening of the Epiphany I was born on Chancery Place and my mother cried a thousand tears that christened my tiny face there was new hope on the horizon on that night in ‘Sixty Three the town was filled with an optimism and my whole life lay ahead of me her father was a locked out docker he spent his life on Liberty Lane my father’s father joined the Brigade and he died fighting Franco in Spain my father he was a drunkard down the years he took to the booze I guess when you’re born with not much more than nothing then you don’t have much more to lose on the night that he died I was fourteen I felt a sorrow I never knew before and from that day I carried with me a sadness no man could ignore I was barely over my grieving when the ‘Eighties came to town the educated left and we took to smack I had many a sorrow to drown the poor of this town they are shat upon I was young when I learnt the truth and when heroin came to the inner city I kissed goodbye to my youth now two hags follow me around the town the heroin and the methadone but it’s no surprise ‘cos generations ago the seeds of my downfall were sown and the poor they have their own legacy take a look at my arms and you’ll see they say there’s a recession coming down the line but it don’t mean fuck all to me top 2. A Husband’s Prayer O lord I’m praying tonight that you will take my love to heaven for they say that soon she will die in a week or even seven and deep down in my soul there’s a love and there’s a sadness for I fear for her as she goes out there into great darkness from the dancehalls where I courted her to our marriage of seven years and twenty each day we watched our children grow I loved her as she loved me though at times it was hard and she often fought against me deep down in our hearts there was love aplenty so lord I’m praying tonight show her love and show her guidance instil into her know great strength and great resilience top 3. Of All The Things I Brought With Me Of all the things I brought with me I brought what matters most like the love I have for friends to who I raise this toast Of all the things I brought with me there may be regrets but I’m old enough to now that I’m young enough to forget And of all the things I brought with me there’s no bitterness and those who’ve done me wrong I offer forgiveness Don’t be bitter boys leave it behind for you are young but we don’t have much time Of all the things I brought with me there are many tears and many sad days we have seen all down through the years But of all the things I brought with me I still dream of a place where we will meet again and again I’ll see your face And don’t be bitter boys leave it behind for you are young but we don’t have much time And of all the things you bring with you know some things you will need and some ephemeral of which you will be freed And of all the things I brought with me there are still my friends through the good times and the bad on who I can depend Don’t be bitter boys leave it behind for you are young but we don’t have much time top 4. Idler’s Lament An idler I was An idler I was And when I asked her why She stuck by me She just smiled and said because She travelled many a mile She travelled many a mile Across the sea From Glasgow town Just to put on my face a smile I was falling until I was found I was falling until I was found And no further could This fool have fallen Before he was six feet in the ground And not far from Misery Hill Not far from Misery Hill She lay by me And she held my hand on the many days that I lay ill She often put me in my place She often put me in my place And I no more than a fool And a man I could not disagree with that face So we rowed and then did part We rowed and then did part But the things that we said On that terrible night We did not mean in our hearts I think of her now as she goes I think of her now as she goes Across the sea To Nantucket bay She drifts in the wind as it blows She is far now from Curzon Street She is far now from Curzon Street Though she may be gone And we may be apart In our hearts we will always meet This life is a mystery to me This life is a mystery to me But I tell you friend For something and nothing I’ve got nowhere else better to be top 5. On A May Morning* As I roved out on a May morning on a May morning right early I met no-one along the way and nobody passed near me I shed a tear for the man who had lost his love too early I shed my tears for he had lost the one who loved him dearly while on I roved for someday that I’d find a love a love who would love me so and I sing this song for you today on this day you will be wed I know today unlike the past joyful tears will be shed and I wish you joy forever more within your marital bed while on I rove for someday that I find a love a love who would love me so and as I came in on a May morning on a May morning right early I shed a tear along the way as sadness she passed near me I shed my tears for all of those who had lost a love to early so take in your arms take in your heart the one who loves you dearly while on I rove for someday I find a love a love who would love me so * This song was inspired by Tommy Makem’s version of ‘As I roved out’, which was performed by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. The first two lines are taken from the same song. top 6. I Think There’s Somewhere Else I’d Rather Be you might have seen me in the bars around the old town with my father’s best coat draped around me you might have thought I was having a whale of a time but I think there’s somewhere else I’d rather be once the night was my loyal companion and I never shirked at the sight of debauchery now it sickens my stomach and chills me to the bone and I think there’s somewhere else I’d rather be now my friends they tell me I smell of the old bars I used to say that the old bars smelled of me now I can’t get the stench out of this dead man’s shirt and I think there’s somewhere else I’d rather be once the jeers of the pissed up boys and the booze-hags rolled off my back and drifted out to sea now they cut me like a knife and jesus I feel old and I think there’s somewhere else I’d rather be you know they say that drunks leave angry ghosts locked into bars for all eternity and they curse each new owner with the cries in the night because they think there’s somewhere else they’d rather be and once this place was my home and my castle now friendly faces they seem strange to me and if they turned up the lights I just might look my age and I think there’s somewhere else I’d rather be top 7. Don't Be Afraid Anymore Friend lift your heart Friend lift your head You wont be grieving forever And when all is done And when all is said You know we will face this together And we’ll be stronger Than we were before So don’t be afraid Afraid anymore And this sadness that has cast This shadow on us You know that it wont defeat us For in spirit We are not poor So don’t be afraid Afraid anymore And too many people We’ve lost on these roads That have led us down into great sorrow But we’ll meet again Of this I am sure So don’t be afraid Afraid anymore And don’t go solemnly Through life And lift your eyes Up from the floor And when my time comes And I must go And give my last kisses To this world I wont be afraid When I’m at the door And I wont be afraid Afraid anymore So don’t be afraid Afraid anymore top 8. The Place Where Fortune Hides I was weary on the road from my travelling in the town where sorrow resides when I met a man who told me the way to the place where fortune hides He told me there was great wisdom in the hearts of those who abide and that those who see their suffering through know the place where fortune hides He said ‘Cast off all of your bitterness always let love be your guide follow your heart and you will be heading to the place where fortune hides Take all of your worldly possessions and throw them all to one side you will not need them when you are going to the place where fortune hides Though all happiness may seem fleeting and all reason will be belied steal yourself with great resolve for the place where fortune hides Do not fear for those who have passed on for they are always by your side be patient my friend and they will lead you to the place where fortune hides’ I drank to his health on that evening I was calmed by the incoming tides he said ‘In the morning I will leaving for the place where fortune hides’ So I continued on the road with my travelling I had found a new peace inside and I did not fear for I knew I was heading to the place where fortune hides top 9. Poor Old Johnny Poor old Johnny poor old Johnny his dying was a shame He lived in Stoneybatter he died up in the Mater the doctors said his drinking was to blame Poor old Johnny Poor old Johnny he was born down on the Coombe he said ‘This life it does me damage but I somehow seem to manage sometimes I wish I’d never left the womb’ Poor old Johnny poor old Johnny he mourned his mother’s death her maiden name McKeever she died of some strange fever you know these things well you just don’t forget Poor old Johnny poor old Johnny I’d meet him on the road stumbling up Bridgefoot Street on his way to Cork street stoically carrying his load Poor old Johnny poor old Johnny his talent went to waste a great poet and a thinker but an even better drinker some people are cursed once they get the taste Poor old Johnny poor old Johnny they say he went insane his father was a Mormon who died up in the ‘Gorman they say he spent his last days howling at the rain Poor old Johnny poor old Johnny I raise this to him now he called it sweet elixir he’d never touch a mixer after six or seven there would be a row Poor old Johnny poor old Johnny I sometimes feel the same when you’re born to malinger and you’re wrapped around the world’s finger and you know there’s no-one but yourself to blame top 10. I Met a lot of People along the Way I met a lot of people along the way most of them weren’t stuck for something to say the talkers, the wasters, the strange and the shy and the people who lived and never asked why Most of them were strangers some became friends manys a morning we watched ascend may god watch over every day all the friends I made along the way I met a lot of people along the way all the while tomorrow became yesterday some of them were women I did not treat well others I waved at from inside my shell I’m sorry if I hurt you I was young and naïve too young to hide the heart on my sleeve I met a lot of people along the way all the while tomorrow became yesterday some people are gone now we watched them depart but we carry them with us deep inside our hearts if you lost anybody along the way my heart goes out to you I don’t know what to say I met a lot of people along the way all the while tomorrow became yesterday top 11. The Rowing Boat Song O lord I’m a misfit I will be until I die I’ve never owned a passport and I’ll never learn to drive You don’t want me in your employ I’m not good for much from making tea to closing deals there’s not much I wont fuck up For I am the rowing boat just going to sit and float until someone kicks a hole in my side I wasn’t born to sit in traffic nor positions of trust I was born to sit right here and get up in time for lunch And my pockets are empty there’s not much I can buy but I guess that I don’t need these things to tell me that I’m alive For I am the rowing boat just going to sit and float until someone kicks a hole in my side When I finally fall down that hole in the ground and my friends and all my family see I’m nowhere to be found Let some say I worked here worked hard in this life for the only true work is living a good life Farewell to the rowing boat long may he sit and float somewhere up there in the sky God bless the rowing boat for he did just sit and float until someone kicked a hole in his side top 12. After this Low After this low we’ll be rising after this low we’ll be rising and we wont fall again fall again After night will be morning after night will be morning it wont be dark again dark again After sadness will be joy again after sadness will be joy again there wont be tears again no more tears After pain will be relief after pain will be relief there wont be pain again pain again And after life there will be rest after life there will be rest there wont be death again no more death After this low we’ll be rising after this low we’ll be rising and we wont fall again fall again top