Author: Barney Rushe / Arr: Christy Moore
Well weren’t we the rare oul’ stock
Spent the evenin’ gettin’ locked
Up in the Ace O’ Hearts
Where the high stools were engaging
Over the Butt Bridge, down by the dock,
The boat she sailed at five o’clock.
‘Hurry boys, now’, said Whack,
‘Or before we’re there we’re all be back.’
Carry him if you can
The crack was ninety in the Isle of Man.
Before we reached the Alexander Basin
The ding dong we did surely raise
In the bar of the ship we had great sport
As the boat she sailed out of the port
Landed up in the Douglas Head
Enquired for a vacant bed
The dining room we soon got shown
By a decent woman up the road
‘Lads, ate it if you can.’
The crack was ninety in the Isle of Man.
Next morning we went for a ramble round
Viewed the sights of Douglas Town
Then we went for a mighty session
In a pub they call Dick Darbies.
We must have been drunk by half past three
To sober up we went swimmin’ in the sea
Back to the digs for the spruce up
And while waitin’ for the fry
We all drew up our plan.
The crack was ninety in the Isle of Mann.
That night we went to the Texas Bar,
Came back down by horse and car
Met Big Jim and all went in
To drink some wine in Yale’s
The Liverpool Judies it was said
Were all to be found in the Douglas Head.
McShane was there in his suit and shirt.
Them foreign girls he was tryin’ to flirt.
Sayin’, ‘Here, girls, I’m your man.’
The crack was ninety in the Isle of Mann.
Whacker fancied his good looks
On an Isle of Man woman he was struck
And he throwin’ the jar into her.
Whacker thought he’d take a chance
He asked the quare one out to dance
Around the floor they stepped it out
And to Whack it was no bother
Everythin’ was goin’ to plan.
The crack was ninety in the Isle of Mann.
The Isle of Man woman fancied Whack
Your man stood there till his mates came back
Whack! they all whacked into Whack
Whack was landed on his back.
The police force arrived as well,
Banjoed a couple of them as well
Landed up in the Douglas jail
Until the Dublin boat did sail,
Deported every man.
The crack was ninety in the Isle of Mann.
More Info
Sorry no essay at present.
CHORDS
Barney Rush of Sallynoggin sang his song when I met him in St.Helier,Jersey in the Channel Islands in 1968.He also gave me Nancy Spain.40 years on and both songs have entered the national repertoire.In the interim Barney has continued to sing mainly in Germany and South Africa,These days he can be heard in Spain but is spending more time back in native Sallynoggin