The Star of County Down

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 coaxing elf, I was ashamed of myself For to see I was really there. 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, sure I scratched my head, And I looked with a feeling rare, And I says, says I, to a passer-by, "Who's the maid with the nut brown hair?" He smiled at me and he says, said he, "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 Quay And from Galway to Dublin Town No maid I've seen like the brown 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 the nut brown rose. No pipe I'll smoke, and no horse I'll yoke Till my plough is rust coloured brown. Till a smiling bride by my own fireside Is the star of the County Down 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