Dubliners, The - Finnegan's Wake Lyrics

Be to thundering jaysis.

the image of Ron being Noosed isn't need here

There's no apostrophe in the first word.

Tim Finnegan lived in watling street
A gentle Irishman, mighty odd
He'd a beautiful brogue so rich and sweet
To rise in the world, he carried a hod

See, he'd sort of a tipplin' way
With love for the liquor poor Tim was born
To help him on with his work each day
He'd a drop of the craythur every morn'

Whack fol, de, dah
Now, dance to your partner
Welt the floor, your trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth, they told ye lots of fun
At Finnegan's wake

One morning Tim got rather full
His head felt heavy which made him shake
Fell from a ladder and he broke his skull
They carried him home, his corpse to wake

Rolled him up in a nice clean sheet
And laid him out upon the bed
A gallon of whiskey at his feet
And a bottle of porter at his head

Whack fol, de, dah
Now, dance to your partner
Welt the floor, your trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth, they told ye lots of fun
At Finnegan's wake

His friends assembled at the wake
And misses Finnegan called for lunch
First she brought in tea and cake
Then pipes, tobacco and whiskey punch

Biddy O'Brien began to cry
Such a nice clean corpse, did you ever see?
Tim mavourneen, why did you die?
Arrah, hold your gob, said Patty Megee

Whack fol, de, dah
Now, dance to your partner
Welt the floor, your trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth, they told ye lots of fun
At Finnegan's wake

Then Maggie O'Connor took up the job
"Arrah", biddy says, she ye're wrong, I'm sure
Biddy then gave her a belt on the gob
And left her sprawling on the floor

There the war did soon engage
Woman to woman and man to man
Shillelah law was all the rage
An a row and a ruction soon began

Whack fol, de, dah
Now, dance to your partner
Welt the floor, your trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth, they told ye lots of fun
At Finnegan's wake

Then Mickey Maloney raised his head
When a bottle of whiskey flew at him
It missed him falling on the bed
The liquor scattered over Tim

Tim revives, see how he rises
Timothy rising from the bed
Then Whirl your whiskey around
Like blazes Thanum an Dhul
Do ye think I'm dead?

My grandson Reece loved this song , we lost him at 17 years of age, the tears fall, god bless him.

Is the song named after Joyce's novel, or vice versa, or do both have a common precursor?

Just enjoy the song and stop talking politics my god.

If nobody else is gonna do it, then I must. As a Newfoundlander with far flung Irish descendance, it fills me with pride to find the origins of this 1850's street ballad. Even more so, to transcribe this version done by The Dubliners. This is what I came up with:



Finnigan's Wake by The Dubliners



Verse 1:
Ah Tim Finnigan lived in Walkin Street,
A Gentleman Irish mighty odd,
He had a brogue both rich and sweet,
An' to rise in the world he carried a hod,
Ah but Tim went a bit of a tipplers way
For the love for the liquor he was born
And to send the monies way each day,
he'd a drop of the craythur every morn,

Chorus:
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner,
Around the flure yer trotters shake
Isn't it the truth I tell ya?
Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake!

Verse 2:
Now one morning Tim was rather full,
his head felt heavy which made him shake,
He fell off the ladder and he broke his skull,
Then they carried him home his corpse to wake,
Oh they wrapped him up in a nice clean sheet,
They laid him out upon the bed,
With a bottle of whiskey at his feet,
And a barrel of porter at his head,


Chorus:
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner,
Around the flure yer trotters shake
Isn't it the truth I tell ya?
Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake!


Verse 3:
Well his friends assembled at the wake,
And Mrs. Finnegan called for lunch
Well first she brought them tay and cake,
Then pipes, tobacco and brandy punch
Then the widow Malone began to cry,
"Ah such a lovely corpse did you ever see,
Well sure Tim a mhuirnīn, why did he die?",
"Will ya hould your gob?" said Mollie McGee,


Chorus:
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner,
Around the flure yer trotters shake
Isn't it the truth I tell ya?
Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake!


Verse 4:
Oh well Mary Murphy took up the job,
"Ah Biddy" says she "you're wrong, I'm sure",
Well Biddy fetched her a belt in the gob,
and left her sprawling on the floor,
A civil war did then engage,
t'was woman to woman and man to man,
Shillelagh law was all the rage,
and a row and a ruction it soon began,


Chorus:
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner,
Around the flure yer trotters shake
Isn't it the truth I tell ya?
Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake!


Verse 5:
Ah Tim Maloney ducked his head,
When a bottle of whiskey flew at him,
He ducked and landing on the bed,
The whiskey scatters over Tim,
Ah bedad he revives and see how he rises,
Tim Finnigan risin' in the bed,
Saying "Twittle your whiskey around like blazes,
Be da t'underin' Jaysus, do ye think I'm dead?"


Chorus:
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner,
Around the flure yer trotters shake
Isn't it the truth I tell ya?
Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake!


Now if someone can enlighten me as to what the last line is, I would be eternally grateful. I have heard it conclude a few Irish tunes. From The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Ryan's Fancy, and others. It seems to be an endearing phrase to cap many a ballad. Any insight would be appreciated, and I hope you enjoy signing along to this beautiful version of a lovely song.

How is your aul 1.gameball

Pride of the Irish.

I'm Ronnie Drew's (great) niece and I remember him making me laugh with ballads such as these whenever he visited. I took them for granted when I was younger and will forever appreciate the joy he brought into the lives of our family ❤ A true Irish Legend

That's amazing. Do you sing? If so, carry on his name.

IZombie brought me here.

He looks exactly like his voice.

Vivent l'amitié avec une belle pinte dans ce si beau pays . AMEN and long life To Irish hearts....cheers

Блэт. Аааа

RIP Ronnie Drew

The EU UN all Zionist media NGOs and borderless charities must be disbanded for Europe to keep it's European cultural heritage identity and have a peaceful future.

fuck you england!!! england is the troyan horse of the USA, you sold out european interests countles times! whithout backstabbing englang /"great" britain, europe would still be world power nr.1

Guinness tastes well to this song!

Or a drop of Kilkenny....

What are the last 5 or 6 words at the end?

"How is your oulwan? game ball" = how is your mother? she's fine

Love theme

We could try brandy

My favorite irish band performer sang this song today on St.Patrick's Day! And its one of my favorite Irish songs!! ☺💓🇨🇮

Never have I seen this many Irish sounding names in one commentsection at once.

I love this song! 😊

Wonderful Dubliners, God bless Ronnie and all the gang.. Rip, Legends 🙏 🎶 🇮🇪

What does he say at the end?

He says, from 1:46 on "There is a fair maid in this town who sorely has my heart beguiled. Her rosy cheeks and ruby lips I own, she has my heart enthralled. So fill to me the parting glass, Good night and joy be with you all"

This is the Irish version of the story of Jesus

Indeed, the better version...

@צבי חזנוב dont think that a jew is the right person to talk about jesus

love it
Oh f**k it!
Why are we fed American rubbish these days.
God bless him.

another great Irish classic. The Dubliners were a wonderful Group. The Irish are great.

So, a typical Irish wake, then?

More or less

Most people clicked on this because of the things nail

A fine English song sung by some great Brits! Very good

RIP Ronnie, Ireland needs to drop the boy band bullshit and support new ballad singers before we lose our heritage

Riverrun, past Eve and Adams

At the right angle, Ian McShane and Ronnie Drew look a bit alike

Classic and full of humor

I need the written text to follow this - my Irish is not up to speed

I will hear them play in Gods house one day

Luke Kelly looks like Connor McGregor

THAToneGUY134 9 no

THAToneGUY134 9 no

GAY PORN! 2:23

Where´s the "hanging picture" taken?

Look up O'Donahue Opera, It'll be in part 4.

great when you have a few drops of the rare stuff

love this legand

im singing along to these! Love Irish drinking songs!

what are those last lines ronnie sang? not the actual lyrics I mean

haha cheeky bastards 😀😄

mitch tang g

'Oul wan' (old woman) is slang for your mother. And gameball (the winning ball in handball) just means great (she's winning). 'How's your ma? - She's winning!'.
I'm from Dublin, trust me. I use those 2 phrases myself. It is in no way a sexual reference.

Ailin Ó Ruiséal
unless.... Oedipus

GAY PORN

Jesus, will we ever see the likes again

Vicky broun

Vicky brown

stop hitting me with that shilllaylee

you bollox ddddddont be soooooo bad.

i think you mean shillelagh lol

Ya mean Bollix

I'm more bothered by the use of 3 L's than the actually misspelling. What word has 3 L's, old or new??

They actually say shillelagh law

my name is shay my second name is Finnegan thets gust my grans name iren snowdon

Sure n it's still 12 miles to Dublin town.

Steve Sausen More like 90 miles from Dublin.

I dedicated to John Fagen

Ronald Druh is a absiloot ledjand and a fantastick musickal jeenyus. eireland Unthree shill niver bee at piece.. chooky hour la

fuck off

arse biscuit

Moon Man 1

Duhhhh I love the queeenie she's so gweat everyone loves her so much m88 ain't you late for the job centre scrounger

Who's the handsome man at 0:34? He's gorgeous!

+Andy Dufresne Aha, it is Ronnie Drew apparently. I know you're a guy, but I have to say: damn, he was hot in his days!!

+Sha Vuklía As cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University

Ronnie Drew.

Looks like me Da...

Tu are even more so=Q.E.D.

the Elvis Presley of folk music,,,he lived,he loved and he left,,,RIP,There's only one Ronnie Drew,,,,,,,,

I could listen to these guys all day and night...... today's music??? not a patch on this!!

The Dubliners are unique; Will be a long time before we see their likes again.

@John O'Connor daycent

Could have called this song Finnegans sleep..Ronnies voice is stronger than the whisky that awoke the blissful Tim Finnegan.Cheerful tune considering the circumstances.Great song.

A wake is a funeral, you dunce

+MySerpentine Thank you for putting him down like that haha

@MySerpentine i know a wake is a funeral -just trying to put some humour into your dormant brains.Actually Tims wasnt a wake as he was still in the land of the living.

@gartnait1 . . . no, it was definitely a wake. The reason it's called a wake is that they were originally done in the hope that the person would be woken up by all the noise. The song is just about a time where it actually worked.

My childhood Music :-D

Sure, and wasn't me Paternal Gran a MacGuire?

Damn they were good why cant music be this good anymore 

Because people have stopped looking, there is good music that is modern music, for instance, try John Moreland

+Isak Viklund In my country (Sweden), "dig" literally means love. So in some ways, "there is good music nowadays, you just have to dig... alot." makes somewhat of sense! ;)

In Ireland 'an dtuigeann tú' (pronounced on diggen too) means 'Do you understand' - or, do you dig it? :)

1 things of many the Irish did Good, was not let Mass Immegration in your Country
Im from UK, And the culture is unexsitance now.
My Family are from, Wexford, Ireland, And I feel more home than I do England.
Think yous will let me in Lool? Hey, I am a Murphy😆😆

Long Live Drew!!!!!

Looks like me ruddy pa!!!!!

Fionn, is a Fenian.  Every time the Fenian cycle runs through there lies a thunder -  the thunder that awakens all.  Fionn + Again (the cycle repeats) + but this time a wake.  Finnegan's Wake.  

The young Ronnie looks like Abraham Lincoln

Young Ronnie Drew looks a bit like Tim Curry.

FUCK THE IRA.
UP THE HUN!

Oh fuck off

Rotten prick

rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated

Tis Tim Finnegan ya Culchie

RebPhillips I think this mans name is actually mike Finnegan

Fuck, you have the same name as an Irish character in my novel

Whole of the moon

🥃💦😓

K.A.T
NO SURRENDER!

Hilarious! The Dubliners are brilliant.

Are you referring to yourself or the Dubliners?

way to ruin it for me!

Jeeze! what the hell are all the comments about? certainly not the song......listen to the song and have a laugh!!!!!

spoiler alert finnegan's alive

I know right....mad....he was just drunk!!!

Youse are spoiling the song with ur fighting!

All true facts, but did you know that when 'Irish Monks' were schooling our ancestors your Irish kingdoms/tribes/clans were pillaging, raping and burning Western Wales and England. We deserve to be proud that we won against the fucking Huns/Nazis and World War 1 and 2. I have many Ancestors who died for my Country and once Emprie, I am as proud of them as you should be of your beautiful republic, so lay off the hatred please both sides have fought long enough.

You're so right mate I couldn't agree more . I live in the RePUBic of Ireland

Mate, why the hate for the British we English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh once fought proudly together as friends. And we deserve our own patriotism, I apologise that our ancestors were cruel but surely after a very long time and a lot of dead men fighting for both causes you can agree their has been enough hatred and now is time for peace?

Matt Bull .

You guys are the reason I am an American. You guys wouldn't help us, when we where starving during the potato famine. My ancestors died due to your ignorance.

Anthony Piraino "muh great great great great grandad knew a man who was Irish so I'm irish too" okay mate

Cheers from Ohio and from one of Irish ancestry

As an Irishman I couldn't agree more

Are you people seriously going to discuss about historical facts that are painfully obvious? That the British Empire, like every imperialistic construct, was a crime is a fact. No one is against England here, I guess, but we must all admit that England's past was not entirely too glorious.

No, that's fairly accurate. There was no holocaustian genocide in Austrlia, or very little, but attempts to assimilate the aboriginal population still qualify as a genocide. The idea was that after three generations or so, the native would be "bred out" by the dominant white genes.

I'm playing the devil's advocate here, but the British did play a pretty big role in the globalization of the world economy. It wasn't just the brits, though, it was all the colonizers. But the British stand out in that a good portion of their former colonial holdings are well-off and successful countries today. Once again, it's only a good portion, so in lieu of somebody giving me a few examples of failed british ex-colonies, don't.

You see that even falling of a ladder doesn't kill an Irishman

That's bullshit but the truth may be far sadder.

No I mean the Honourable East India Company.

Poor Paddy worked on the railway - you mean that one?

a jas lads will yis just liste to the song. fuck politics.
enjoy life. and fuck the brits/germans

Fuck the Irish

indeed but that hitler bullshit doesnt seem only german prob nowaway

seems landed in wrong seminar.... :D

Don't forget about Australia. The British Empire tried to breed the Aboriginal out of the natives by taking away the young girls and wedding them off to whites.

Pretending that the Nazis were consciously doing "evil" is hilarious

true but Nazi Germany was pretty evil, Hitler may of had less influence on the globe in his small part of the world but for what destruction he could do, he did. England also had racial superiority complexes and genocidal action however it wasn't England's 'mission', they at least pretended to do good while they were making money for themselves while the Nazis would actually choose to lose money in order to carry out there mission of racial supremacy.

2 weeks lol.

So that preparation, how did that pan out?

on one thing youre right: thank ireland for guinness!

Haha The syria thing is just the start of something much much bigger. LoL just wait world we have already foreseen where this one's going and it couldn't come at a better time. Anyone looked into the national service bill the English govt is putting through? We are preparing. What are you doing?

As an unbiased Irishman (we're a dying breed) I must acquit the English of any involvement in the Congo. Unless you are one of the Leabasheeda Sadokierskis might I suggest that you read a little history before commenting.

Only some of those words apply to me.

well simple really. The railway. but its not my fairytale. if you want to learn it look at eitc and development of railways and also have a look at the commonwealth and its history and then you will realise that the british empire dragged the savages and tribals into human society. if you still arent able to understand for yourself then there really is no point. so lets play a game of fuck off. you go first.

Brought the World together? Oh yes, say that to Congo and Patrice Lumumba or Iraq and Abdul Qasim. Please, do tell me how the British Empire democratically brought the world together into it's warm and soft bed, cause I would like to hear this interesting fairy tale of yours.

cofiwch ron la!

Ofcourse ireland isnt England. Ireland is nothing.

"A way a lone a last a loved along the riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs."

Neither was I, I was actually referring to your point about hating Denmark.

I didn't implied that Denmark ever committed genocide. The area now refereed to as Denmark was an area where many vikings came from who raided and occupied Ireland (9th to 11th century if I remember correctly). Its not an "us vs them" moment in history anymore. Some of my ancestors (most likely), were some of those raiders from Denmark. Throughout European history, there has been so much shuffling of the genetic deck, we are only separated from each other by a few centuries at best.

I would also invite you to read "To hell or Barbados: The Ethnic cleansing of Ireland" by Sean O Callaghan