St Brendan'S Fair Isle
The Drowsy Lads
4:58I remember the night that he came in for the wintery cold and the damp a giant of a man in an oil skin coat and a bundle that told he was tramp He stood at the bar and he called a pint and turned and gazed at the fire On a night like this to be safe and dry is my one and only desire "" So heres to those that are dead and gone the friends that I loved dear and heres to you and I'll bid you a due singing Donegal Danny's been here me boys Donegal Danny's been here Then in a voice that was hushed and low he said listen Ill tell you a tale How a man of the sea became a man of the road and never more will set sail I fished out of Hoth and Billy-bags, Arglass and Baltimore, But a cruel sea has beaten me and I'll end my days on the shore "" So heres to those that are dead and gone the friends that I loved dear and heres to you and I'll bid you a due singing Donegal Danny's been here me boys Donegal Danny's been here One faithful night in the wind and the rain we set sail killy bays town there were 5 of us from sweet Donegal and one from county down We were fishermen who sailed the sea and never counted the cost But I never thought there that night was gone that my fine friends would all be lost "" So heres to those that are dead and gone the friends that I loved dear and heres to you and I'll bid you a due singing Donegal Danny's been here me boys Donegal Danny's been here Then the storm has broke and drove the boat to the rocks about 10 miles from shore as we fought the tide we hoped inside to see our homes once more. But the ship struck a rock and holed the bow and all of knew that she'd go down and all of us knew that she'd go down so we jumped right in to the icey sea and prayed to God we wouldn't drown but the raging sea was risin still as we struck out for the land as she fought with all her cruelty to claim that gall and the band By st. Johns point in the early dawn I dragged myself the shore And I cursed the sea for what she'd done and vowed to sail her never more Ever since that night, I've been on the road Travlin and trying to forget that awful night I lost all my friends I see they're faces yet and often at night when the sea his high and the wind is tearing at my skin I hear crys of drowning men sailing over on the wind "" x2 So heres to those that are dead and gone the friends that I loved dear and heres to you and I'll bid you a due singing Donegal Danny's been here me boys Donegal Danny's been here