I am a little beggarman,
a-begging I have been
For three score or more
in this little isle of green
I’m known from the Liffey
down to Segue
And I’m known by the name
of old Johnny Dhu.
Of all the trades that’s going,
I’m sure begging is the best
For when a man is tired,
he can sit down and rest,
He can beg for his dinner,
he has nothing else to do
Only cut around the corner
with his old rig-a-doo
I slept in the barn
right down at Caurabawn,
A wet night came on
and I slept until the dawn,
With holes in the roof
and the rain coming through,
And the rats and the cats,
they were playing peek-a-boo.
When who did I waken
but the woman of the house
With her white spotty apron
and her calico blouse
She began to frighten,
I said, “Boo Ara, don’t be afraid,
ma’am, it’s only Johnny Dhu”
I met a little flaxy-haired girl one day
“Good morning,
little flaxy-haired girl,” I did say
“Good morning, little beggarman,
and how do you do,
With your rags and your tags
and your old rig-a-doo?”
VI
I’ll buy a pair of leggings
and a collar and a tie
And a nice young lady
I’ll fetch by and by
I’ll buy a pair of goggles,
I’ll color them blue,
And an old-fashioned lady
I will make her, too
Over the road with
me pack on me back
Over the fields with
me great, heavy sack
With holes in me shoes
and me toes peeping through
Singing, “Skinny-me-rink-a-doodle-o and old Johnny Dhu”
I must be going to bed
for it’s getting late at night
The fire’s all raked
and out goes the light
So now you’ve heard the story
of me old rig-a-doo
“It’s good-bye and God be with you,” says old Johnny Dhu
a-begging I have been
For three score or more
in this little isle of green
I’m known from the Liffey
down to Segue
And I’m known by the name
of old Johnny Dhu.
Of all the trades that’s going,
I’m sure begging is the best
For when a man is tired,
he can sit down and rest,
He can beg for his dinner,
he has nothing else to do
Only cut around the corner
with his old rig-a-doo
I slept in the barn
right down at Caurabawn,
A wet night came on
and I slept until the dawn,
With holes in the roof
and the rain coming through,
And the rats and the cats,
they were playing peek-a-boo.
When who did I waken
but the woman of the house
With her white spotty apron
and her calico blouse
She began to frighten,
I said, “Boo Ara, don’t be afraid,
ma’am, it’s only Johnny Dhu”
I met a little flaxy-haired girl one day
“Good morning,
little flaxy-haired girl,” I did say
“Good morning, little beggarman,
and how do you do,
With your rags and your tags
and your old rig-a-doo?”
VI
I’ll buy a pair of leggings
and a collar and a tie
And a nice young lady
I’ll fetch by and by
I’ll buy a pair of goggles,
I’ll color them blue,
And an old-fashioned lady
I will make her, too
Over the road with
me pack on me back
Over the fields with
me great, heavy sack
With holes in me shoes
and me toes peeping through
Singing, “Skinny-me-rink-a-doodle-o and old Johnny Dhu”
I must be going to bed
for it’s getting late at night
The fire’s all raked
and out goes the light
So now you’ve heard the story
of me old rig-a-doo
“It’s good-bye and God be with you,” says old Johnny Dhu
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Diddly-doo-dah-diddly-i-diddly-i-dum
Diddly-i-diddly-i-diddly-i-dee-dum
Diddly-doo-dah-diddly-i-doo-dah-dum