Where the Green Rushes Grow
New Year’s Day
Valerie’s Train
Dhrrrink
Any other Way
The Black Dodder Flowing
Where the Green Rushes Grow
Invaders From Space
Ballad of Capel Street
It Gets You In The End
Change the Euro to the Yen
Sandy
POSTSCRIPT

Where the Green Rushes Grow
(The Forgotten Irish)
I
Travelled miles to learn an old song
Stayed up all night to learn a tune
Cycled home in early morning
Practised hard all afternoon
And I could see the whole damn country
From that hilltop long ago
And all my dreams are on the water
Down where the green rushes grow

II
Dragged our bodies up the gangplank
Stood on deck to wave goodbye
Drank a health to friends and neighbours
Wiped a tear from Irelands Eye
And I could see the whole damn country
From that hilltop long ago
And all my dreams are on the water
Down where the green rushes grow

Middle Eight

Until you’ve nothing left but stupid songs and bleary eyes
And you’ll drink yourself back home until the day you die.

III
Traffic here goes on forever
Nothing started or begun
Dogs and cats fight for the garbage
People curse in many tongues
And I could see the whole damn country
From that hilltop long ago
And all my dreams are on the water
Down where the green rushes grow

IV
Some of us are gone forever
Some of us have made a name
Some of us still writing letters
Some of us just lost our way
And I could see the whole damn country
From that hilltop long ago
And all my dreams are on the water
Down where the green rushes grow

Angel Fair

I
Angel fair sweet angel fair
You think nobody loves you
And you don’t care
Take a breath of the cold night air
Nobody’s gonna miss you when you’re gone

II
Life is tough life oh life is tough
Sometimes you feel like you had enough
You give them love but they tear it up
Nobody’s gonna miss you when you’re gone
Refrain
Angel fair the last train leaves tomorrow
Gonna be there gonna beg steal or borrow
No one knows just where it goes
And nobody’s gonna miss you when you’re gone

III
Tomorrow could be the perfect day
It could rain a little but that’s O. K.
Wave to me when you pass my way
Nobody’s gonna miss you when you’re gone

IV
Angel fair sweet angel fair
You think body loves you
And you don’t care
Take a breath of the cold night air
Nobody’s gonna miss you when you’re gone

Refrain
Angel fair the last train leaves tomorrow
Gonna be there gonna beg steal or borrow
No one knows just where it goes
And nobody’s gonna miss you when you’re gone

New Year’s Day

First Verse

An eastbound train on a New Year’s Day
Calls out as the night closes in
On the half empty stations
In sleepy old towns
And chimney smoke blowin’ in the wind

Second Verse

An old moon follows this train down the line
Another year over and down
Someone close by singing “Old Langs Ayne”
Reminds me of when you were around.

Refrain

But the world turned so fast
And the years seemed to fly
And the picture just faded away
I don’t remember the laughter
I don’t remember the wine
Only you on a New Year’s Day

Chorus

I can see you you’re tired and you’re sleepy
And everyone’s going away
And you’ll sit by your window
Long after they’ve gone
It always rains on A New Year’s Day
It always rains on A New Year’s Day

Third Verse

I spend my whole life running into the night
Just like an old engine it seems
For better for worse
We loved and we lost
And buried it deep in a dream

Fourth Verse

So I drink to you now from God knows where
Reaching out on a New Years Day
Still I’m lost in the arms
Of an East Bound Train
Trying to push all the memories away

Refrain

But the world turned so fast
And the years seemed to fly
And the picture just faded away
I don’t remember the laughter
I don’t remember the wine
Only you on a New Year’s Day

Chorus

I can see you you’re tired and you’re sleepy
And everyone’s going away
And you’ll sit by your window
Long after they’ve gone
It always rains on A New Year’s Day
It always rains on A New Year’s Day

Valerie’s Train

1
On a Wednesday in November
The train was running late
Word got round there were signals down
The whole world had to wait.

2
She kept an eye on the youngest one
As he ran from place to place
The other eye on the older two
And the battered old suitcase

Chorus

It was now or never more
Pain is not worth waiting for
Only years can dim the pain
And make you real again

3
He might find her maybe not
It was always on her mind
But she’d burn all bridges no matter what
And leave the past behind

4
It started out like most things do
A story of the heart
But reality can be four sad walls
That tear it all apart

Chorus

It was now or never more
Pain is not worth waiting for
Only years can dim the pain
And make you real again

5
The train came tumbling down the line
And people gathered round
She didn’t look behind her
Her feet didn’t touch the ground

Chorus

It was now or never more
Pain is not worth waiting for
Only years can dim the pain
And make you real again

The Last of The Iron Arsed Pub Balladeers

Chorus

I’ve been a wild rover for too many years
I’ve half the world’s breweries mashed into me beard
Me hair’s gone to heaven me eyes have gone weird
I’m the last of the Iron Arsed Pub Balladeers

I

I started in Donoghue’s Like balladeers do
And I learned “Peggy Gordon” and “The Rare Mountain Dew”
I sang for my mother she thought I had flu
And a voice just as bad as her husbands.

II

I learned all the songs and I learned all the shapes
And to tell stupid jokes when me bleeding strings break
I sang ballads at weddings and ballads at wakes
And died every night for Old Ireland

Chorus

I’ve been a wild rover for too many years
I’ve half the world’s breweries mashed into me beard
Me hair’s gone to heaven me eyes have gone weird
I’m the last of the Iron Arsed Pub Balladeers

III

God be with the day when the German girls swooned
As I sang “Four Green Fields” in a noisy barroom
Now they want Riverdance and I’m shaped like the moon
I can’t get me little legs goin’.

IV

But I’ll sing “Athenry” or the “Green Fields of France”
While I balance me belly on the top of me pants
I have to tighten me arse to give the high notes a chance
And me sweat would drown Molly Malone.

Chorus

I’ve been a wild rover for too many years
I’ve half the world’s breweries mashed into me beard
Me hair’s gone to heaven me eyes have gone weird
I’m the last of the Iron Arsed Pub Balladeers

I went home to my mother confessed what I done
Then I realised that I wasn’t her son
And when she forgave me like oft-times before
I went in and got killed by my mother next door

Chorus

I’ve been a wild rover for too many years
I’ve half the world’s breweries mashed into me beard
Me hair’s gone to heaven me eyes have gone weird
I’m the last of the Iron Arsed Pub Balladeers

Dhrrrink

Well, in Dublin Town we wander round, you say we have cares in the world, sir
But there are no jobs, so to get a few bob, half of Dublin City's on the dole, sir
And you ask me why we always smile and why we sing and dance into the night, sir
But there are twisted grins in our wagging and why we never walk in a straight line, sir

Chorus:
It's for drink, drink, the country's on the brink
We know man's life isn't long, sir
But time has past and if you fill my glass
I'll paint a bit of Dublin in a song, sir, I'll paint a bit of Dublin in a song

We've got market bars for the early jars to cure the he-be-gee-be's and the shakes, sir
Now the Holy hour's gone, so we can still carry, it's back to the business of the day, sir
And the problems of the world we'll all unfurl and nobody admits to being wrong, sir
We argue blind till closing time on the government, the buses and the bomb, sir
Chorus

Now, we've a government that's an ornament, most of them have nothing for a brain, sir
They've the IQ rate of a garden gate, they couldn't run a puddle down a drain, sir
They wave and smile, they kiss your child, they promise you the earth, the moon and stars, sir
But when it comes to the crunch, you'll find the whole bunch, drinking Bloody Mary's in the bar, sir
Chorus

Now the Dublin bus is a joke to us, in Ballymun we call them UFOs sir
Still we all look well, cause we walk like Hell, we're the healthiest city on the dole
And the buses strike whenever they like and when they're on the never run at all, sir
They cough and splutter, they stagger and stutter, they move along by clinging to the wall, sir
Chorus

So here's a health to the rats, the horrors and the bats, the elephants, the leprechauns and spiders
The things that crawl on your kitchen wall and things that go bump in the night, sir
And to conclude here's a health to you for helping to decorate me table, sir
Now, will you ever pay for my take away, and I'll finish my song while I am able, sir
Chorus

Beneath Cleary’s Clock We got an awful shock Near enough to where Nelson tumbled down sir
For Mr. Smurfit built a bath In memory of his Da And in it left a lady there to drown sir
Now “bidet” Mulligan’s been switched To Pearse Street nick To stop all the splashing and swimming sir
And the politicians are right To pick this site Now they’ll have a place to wash Their dirty linen sir.

FINAL Chorus:
And it's drink, drink, the country's on the brink
We know man's life isn't long, sir, but time has past like my empty glass
And that's a bit of Dublin in a song, sir, and that's a bit of Dublin in a song

Any other Way

1

The place I spent my first years
Is down that railway line
It had a hotel and a grocery
Where old men spent their time
Nothing happened by the hour
Nothing happened by the day
But they wouldn’t have it
Any other way

II

The boys they all sand Elvis tunes
The last time I was there
The girls wore fifties dresses
With ribbons in their hair
I remember waving at the fast trains
That came and took them all away
And then I followed
One rainy day

Refrain

Transistor radios were new back then
We saw them in magazines
And only actors walked upon the moon
Only actors wore blue jeans.

III

Now the place I spent my frost years
Is something else to see
With a great big university
Where the hotel used to be
The whole world changes by the hour
Memories fade with every day
We wouldn’t have it
Any other way

The Black Dodder Flowing

I
Springtime had come
With the rain in the morning
And the swans changing plume
Scattered reeds blowing
And I a mere stranger
Had chanced without knowing
On the song of the
Black Dodder Flowing

Chorus

Spring rushes on and leaves you
And trees will be green while they stand
For seasons are only
A verse in your song
That you hold for a while
in your hand.

II
She moves like a woman
That’s fancy and free
A woman with secrets
Well hidden from me
And bridges and houses
Keep growing keep growing
Soon they’ll bow to the
Black Dodder Flowing

Chorus

Spring rushes on and leaves you
And trees will be green while they stand
For seasons are only
A verse in your song
That you hold for a while
in your hand.

III
I stood for a while
Where she turns for the sea
Saw the wind reach and touch her
Before turning to me
Then I walked along with her
Without ever knowing the song of the
Black Dodder Flowing

Chorus

Spring rushes on and leaves you
And trees will be green while they stand
For seasons are only
A verse in your song
That you hold for a while
in your hand.

Where the Green Rushes Grow
(The Forgotten Irish)

Was written by Mick Fitzgerald. This is his first entry to a song contest although he has had songs covered and recorded by various artists.

The song is about a man Mick met in Derby in England who had not been back to Ireland in forty years. His only connections with home were the songs he remembered after a few drinks.

The entry will be sung by Gerry Galvin himself a well known performer in Dublin.

Invaders From Space
I
Our Pubs were for drinking a long time ago
For meeting your friends and your neighbours also
But they put in TV’s and Juke-Boxes and then
Came great big machines full of blue little men.
II
This country has suffered invaders before
The Danes and the Normans and the British also
We fought them for years and we never lost face
But what can you do with invaders from space.
Chorus
Singing 200, 400, 600, Beep
Bonus points arthritic joints and the grinding of teeth
20p’s and knobbly knees, lumbago and gout
Since these space invaders took over from stout.
III
They’re the noisiest things that a pub has to bear
Once I couldn’t be shut up now I cannot be heard
They go bang, they go boom with a frightening power
And to order a pint sure it takes me an hour.
IV
They wear strange attire when they’re playing these machines
Shirt with no buttons big medals with chains
Very tight trousers and varicose veins
They’re all bloody arse and no bloody brains.
Chorus
Singing 200, 400, 600, Beep
Bonus points arthritic joints and the grinding of teeth
20p’s and knobbly knees, lumbago and gout
Since these space invaders took over from stout.
V
You put in 20p press a button and then
These little invaders lep around like old hens
There’s one they call Pac-Man that eats all before
And the machine eats your money and asks you for more.
VI
There’s a brand new machine coming out of the Dail
Called political invader it’s the king of them all
You must defend your wage packet from Fine Gael and Fianna Fail
And you’ve only two chances, nil and shag all.
Chorus

Singing 200, 400, 600, Beep
Bonus points arthritic joints and the grinding of teeth
20p’s and knobbly knees, lumbago and gout
Since these space invaders took over from stout.
VII
CIE had a game out but withdrew it again
It was full of green busses and little green men
You had a little green bus stop to fight for your side
But the little green busses would never arrive
VIII
Some people walk funny from this awful affair
With their bodies bent over and their arse in the air
Their arms are all floppy heads spin around
And they’re looking for little blue men on the ground.

Ballad of Capel Street

I

Saturday down with old men in the Bar
Talking big money holding onto a star
And the name of the horse is “A Wing and a Prayer”
And he’s going to do it this time.
And the dirty old river goes crawling away
From the cold heart of morning
To the end of the day.
Just once in a lifetime is all that it takes
And he’s going to do it this time.

Refrain

And the world’s upside down
On the far side of the town
A street carnival with a merry-go-round he
He moves through the streets
He studies the form
And he’ going to do it this time.

II

Saturday night blowing papers around
The whole world’s asleep
And no dreams to be found
He’s drunk beside the river
He’s close to the ground
Singing some song to the wind.
A song on the streets with a voice wearing thin
It bounces off windows three sheets to the wind
Just once in a lifetime is all that it takes
And he didn’t do it this time.

Refrain

He sings alive alive oh
Alive alive oh
He won’t know in the morning
But that’s how it goes
He sings alive alive oh, alive alive oh
He didn’t do it this time
He sings alive alive oh
Alive alive oh
He won’t know in the morning
But that’s how it goes
He sings alive alive oh, alive alive oh
He didn’t do it this time.

It Gets You In The End
I
Traffic lights are broken
On the turn-off to the quay
You can never find a policeman
Where he’s supposed to be
There’s a burned out car in Smithfield
Theere’s a drunk there singing too
A thin girl with a walkman
Has turned her back on school

Chorus
Don’t you know…
All hell breaks loose again
I’m late as always
The whole world’s gone round the bend
And Jesus but
It gets you in the end
It gets you in the end
It gets you in the end
It gets you in the end

II
Now everybody’s mumblin’
We’re goin nowhere fast
The weatherman said sunshine
He was talking through his arse (ass)
She’s waiting at the statue
The rain is there as well
She’s contemplating murder
I’m contemplating hell

Chorus
Don’t you know…
All hell breaks loose again
I’m late as always
The whole world’s gone round the bend
And Jesus but
It gets you in the end
It gets you in the end
It gets you in the end
It gets you in the end

II
There’s a welcome in the hillside
There’s a welcome in the glen
I know the welcome I’ll get
I’ll be on the rack again
So farewell gentle sunshine
Farewell evening star
She’ll be free and single
I’ll be propping up the bar

Change the Euro to the Yen
Chorus
Change the Euro to the Yen
Paddy’s on the road again
Change the Euro to the Yen
Here comes the Green Army.
I
God it’s been a long old trek
Turned us into nervous wrecks
But they couldn’t put us on the deck
They couldn’t beat Mick’s army
Now it’s the land of the Rising Sun
The journey’s only just begun
So change the Euro to the Yen
Cos here comes the Green Army
Chorus
Change the Euro to the Yen
Paddy’s on the road again
Change the Euro to the Yen
Here comes the Green Army.
II
The Portugese and Dutch found out
What Irish Pride is all about
Iran were sure they’d wipe us out
But they couldn’t beat Mick’s Army
“Seyonara” girls and boys
We’ll give the East some Irish Noise
So change the Euro to the Yen
Here comes the Green Army
Chorus
Change the Euro to the Yen
Paddy’s on the road again
Change the Euro to the Yen
Here comes the Green Army.
III
We’ll sell the bike and the Hi-Ace van
Eat nothing else but bread and jam
Sell firewood from a rusty pram
You’ll never stop Mick’s Army
In Korea and Japan
Every woman and every man
Will change the Euro to the Yen
Cos here comes the Green Army
Chorus
Change the Euro to the Yen
Paddy’s on the road again
Change the Euro to the Yen
Here comes the Green Army.

Sandy

I
Sandy is that the best you can do
Pullin my dreams apart
One night sweet talkin
Next night sleep walkin
Out of my foolish heart

II
Sandy your smile
Just melts all the rain
Brightens up all the grey
So don’t leave me lonely
Say you’re mine only
Melt all my clouds away

Refrain
Half the time you keep me suspended
Hanging on your every breath
Then your eyes brighten
And my poor heart tightens
Its never failed you yet

III
Sandy as sure as night follows day
You know I’ll follow you
So don’t leave me lonely
Say you’re mine only
Don’t turn this night-time blue

Refrain
Half the time you keep me suspended
Hanging on your every breath
Then your eyes brighten
And my poor heart tightens
Its never failed you yet

III
Sandy as sure as night follows day
You know I’ll follow you
So don’t leave me lonely
Say you’re mine only
Don’t turn this night-time blue

World Cup Song Competition

Postscript

I

I Travelled one Christmas
The way that we came
And in every damn town
They remembered your name
And a song I’d forgotten
Came back like a train
To a station inside me
That holds absent friends

Chorus

We could panic still waters
We could slow down the wind
We could make or break hearts
With our eyes
We shared all the stories
We shared all the miles
And when it came to the crossroads
We said our goodbyes

II

You knew the whole country
And all of its ground
You shone like a diamond
That never was found
Now you shine in the sky
When the night comes around
And light my way home
When shadows creep down

Chorus

We could panic still waters
We could slow down the wind
We could make or break hearts
With our eyes
We shared all the stories
We shared all the miles
And when it came to the crossroads
We said our goodbyes