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 a 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 cho: 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 Sayin' "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 road And never more will set sail I 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 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 'ere that night was gone That my fine friends would all be lost Then the storm it broke and broke the boat With 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 hold 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 ragin' sea was risin' still As we struck out for the land And she fought with all her cruelty To claim that gallant men By Saint 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 Ever since that night I've been on the road Travelin' and trying to forget That awful night I lost all my friends I see their faces yet And often at night when the sea is high And the rain is tearing at my skin I hear the cries of drowning men Floating over on the wind TK oct97
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!