Near Banbridge Town, in the County Down
One morning in July,
Down the boreen came a sweet colleen,
And she smiled as she passed me by;
Oh, she looked so neat from her two bare feet
To the crown of her nut-brown hair,
Such a winsome elf, I pinched myself
To be sure I was really there
CHORUS: Oh, from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.
As she onward sped I shook my head
And I gazed with a feeling rare,
And I said, says I, to a passer-by,
"Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?"
Oh, he smiled at me, and with pride says he,
"That's the gem of all Ireland's crown,
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the Star of the County Down."
CHORUS: Oh, from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.
At the harvest fair I'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
With my shoes shined bright and my hat just right
Win the heart of the nut-brown Rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
And my plow will rust and brown,
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the Star of the County Down.
CHORUS: Oh, from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.