Donegal Danny

I remember the night that he came in from the wintery cold and damp A giant of a man in an oilskin coat and the bundle that told he was a tramp He stood at the bar and he called a pint then turned and gazed at the fire On a night like this to be safe and dry is my one and only desire. So here's to those that are dead and gone The friends that I loved dear And here's to you then I'll bid you adieu Saying Donegal Danny's been here me boys Donegal Danny's been here Then in a voice that was hushed and low he said, listen I'll tell you a tale How a man of the sea became a man of the roads and never more will set sail I've fished out of Howth and Killybegs, Ardglass and Baltimore But the cruel sea has beaten me and I'll end my days on the shore So here's to those that are dead and gone The friends that I loved dear And here's to you then I'll bid you adieu Saying Donegal Danny's been here me boys Donegal Danny's been here One fateful night in the wind and the rain we set sail from Killybegs town There were five of us from sweet Donegal and one from County Down We were fishermen who worked the sea and never counted the cost But I never thought when that night was done that my fine friends would all be lost So here's to those that are dead and gone The friends that I loved dear And here's to you then I'll bid you adieu Saying Donegal Danny's been here me boys Donegal Danny's been here Then the storm it broke and drove the boat to the rocks about ten miles from shore As we fought the tide we hoped inside to see our homes once more Then we struck a rock and holed the bow and all of us knew that she'd go down So we jumped right into the icy sea and prayed to God we wouldn't drown But the raging sea was rising still as we struck out for the land And she fought with all her cruelty to claim that gallant band By St John's Point in the early dawn I dragged myself on the shore And I cursed the sea for what she'd done and vowed to sail her never more So here's to those that are dead and gone The friends that I loved dear And here's to you then I'll bid you adieu Saying Donegal Danny's been here me boys Donegal Danny's been here