Star of the County Down

Near Banbridge town in the County Down One evening last July Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín And she smiled as she passed me by She looked so neat in her two bare feet And the sheen of her nut-brown hair Such a coaxing elf, I'd to shake myself To make sure I was standing there From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay From Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the fair cailín That I met in the County Down As she onward sped, and I shook me head And I gazed with a feeling queer And I said, says I, to a passerby "Who's your one with the nut-brown hair?" He smiled at me, and with pride says he "She's the gem of old Ireland's crown Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann And the star of the County Down" From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay From Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the fair cailín That I met in the County Down She'd a soft brown eye and a look so sly And a smile like a rose in June And you held each note from her auburn throat As she lilted lamenting tunes At the pattern dance you'd be in a trance As she skipped through a jig or a reel When her eyes, she'd roll, ah she'd lift your soul And your heart, she would likely steal From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay From Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the fair cailín That I met in the County Down At the harvest fair she'll be surely there And I'll dress in me Sunday clothes With my hat cocked right and me shoes shone bright For a smile from the nut-brown Rose No horse I'll yoke, or pipe I'll smoke 'Til the rust in my plough turn brown And a smiling bride by my own fireside Sits the star of the County Down From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay From Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the fair cailín That I met in the County Down She'd a soft brown eye and a look so sly And a smile like a rose in June And you held each note from her auburn throat As she lilted lamenting tunes At the pattern dance you'd be in a trance As she skipped through a jig or a reel When her eyes she'd roll, ah she'd lift your soul And your heart, she would likely steal From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay From Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the fair cailín That I met in the County Down Near Banbridge town, in the County Down One evening last July Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín And she smiled as she passed me by She looked so neat in her two bare feet And the sheen of her nut-brown hair Such a coaxing elf, I'd to shake myself To make sure I was standing there From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay From Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the fair cailín That I met in the County Down From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay From Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the fair cailín That I met in the County Down From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay From Galway to Dublin town No maid I've seen like the fair cailín That I met in the County Down