Me an' me Da (living in Drumlister)

Me An' Me DaSpeaker: J.P. BradleyWords: Rev. William BradleyFrom the Best of J.P. Bradley playlist.I'm livin' in Drumlister,An' I'm gettin very oul',I have to wear an Indian bagTo save me from the coul'.The deil a man in this townlan'Wos claner raired nor me,But I'm livin' in DrumlisterIn clabber to the knee.Me da lived up in Carmin,An' kep' a sarvint boy;His second wife wos very sharp,He birried her with joy:Now she wos thin, her name was Flynn,She come from Cullentra,An' if me shirt's a clatty shirtThe man to blame's me da.Consarnin' weemin, sure it wosA constant word of his,`Keep far away from them that's thin,Their temper's aisy riz.'Well, I knowed two I thought wud do,But still I had me fears,So I kiffled back an' forritBetween the two, for years.Wee Margit had no fortuneBut two rosy cheeks wud plaze;The farm of lan' wos Bridget's,But she tuk the pock disayse:An' Margit she wos very wee,An' Bridget she wos stoutBut her face wos like a gaol dureWith the boults pulled out.I'll tell no lie on Margit,She thought the worl' of me;I'll tell the truth, me heart wud lepThe sight of her to seeBut I wos slow, ye surely know,The raison of it now,If I left her home from CarminMe da wud rise a row.So I swithered back an' forritTill Margit got a man;A fella come from MullaslinAn' left me jist the wan.I mind the day she went away,I hid wan strucken hour,An' cursed the wasp from CullentraThat made me da so sour.But cryin' cures no trouble,To Bridget I went back,An' faced her for it that night weekBeside her own turf-stack.I axed her there, an' spoke her fair,The handy wife she d make me,I talked about the lan' that joined- Begob, she wudn't take me!So I'm livin' in DrumlisterAn' I'm get'tin' very oul'I creep to Carmin wanst a monthTo thry an' make me sowl:The deil a man in this townlan'Wos claner raired nor me,An' I'm dyin' in DrumlisterIn clabber to the knee.By "The Bard of Tyrone"The Reverend William Marshall© The Estate of Margaret Marshall