Near to Banbridge Town, in the County Down
One morning in July,
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen,
And she smiled as she passed me by;
Oh, she looked so neat from her two white feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair,
Sure the coaxing elf, I d to shake myself
To make sure I was standing there
Oh, from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I ve seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Down.
As she onward sped I shook my head
And I gazed with a feeling quare,
And I said, says I, to a passer-by,
"Who s the maid with the nut-brown hair?"
Oh, he smiled at me, and with pride says he,
"That s the gem of Ireland s crown,
She s young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She s the Star of the County Down."
I ve travelled a bit, but never was hit
Since my roving career began;
But fair and square I surrendered there
To the charms of young Rose McCann.
I d a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet with in shawl or gown,
But in she went and I asked no rent
From the Star of the County Down.
At the crossroads fair I ll be surely there
And I ll dress in my Sunday clothes
And I ll try sheep s eyes, and deludhering lies
On the heart of the nut-brown Rose.
No pipe I ll smoke, no horse I ll yoke
Though with rust my plow turns brown,
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the Star of the County Down.