Near Banbridge Town in the County Down
One morning last July
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair
Such a winsome elf, I'm ashamed of myself
For to see I staring there
From Bantry Bay up to Derry's Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down
As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head
And I looked with a feelin' rare
And I say's, say's I, to a passer-by
"Whose the maid with the nut brown hair"?
Well he looked at me and he said to me
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann
She's the star of the County Down".
From Bantry Bay up to Derry's Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down
She had soft brown eyes with a look so shy
And a smile like the rose in June
And she sang so sweet what a lovely treat
As she lilted an Irish tune
At the Lammas dance i was in the trance
As she whirled with the lads of the town
And it broke my heart just to be apart
From the star of the County Down
From Bantry Bay up to Derry's Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down
At the Harvest Fair she'll be surely there
So I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked right
For a smile from my nut brown rose
No pipe I'II smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Till my plough was rust coloured brown
And a smiling bride, by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down
From Bantry Bay up to Derry's Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down
From Bantry Bay up to Derry's Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down