The Juice of the Barley

The Juice of the Barley

"The Juice of the Barley" is a traditional Irish drinking song from around the mid-19th century. The Clancy Brothers, as well as several other bands have made recordings of the song.

The line in the chorus, "bainne na mbó is na gamhna" is Gaelic, and translates as "Milk of the cow's and the goat's." The Irish for milk is "Bainne" and the Irish for Cow is "Bó" the plural being "mBó" the Irish for "Goat" is "Gamhar" the plural being "Gamhna". Bainne na mbó (milk of the cow) is na gamhna (and the goats) the "is" in this text is prouneced as in "this" and is the Irish shortened version of "agus" meaning "and, also or as well"

Lyrics

:In the sweet county Lim'rick, one cold winter's night:All the turf fires were burning when I first saw the light;:And a drunken old midwife went tipsy with joy,:As she danced round the floor with her slip of a boy,

::"Chorus":::Singing bainne na mbó is na gamhna::And the juice of the barley for me.

:Then when I was a young lad of six years or so,:With me book and my pencil to school I did go,:To a dirty old school house without any door,:Where lay the school master blind drunk on the floor,

::"Chorus"

:At the learning I wasn't such a genius I'm thinking,:But I soon bet the master entirely at drinking,:Not a wake or a wedding for five miles around,:But meself in the corner was sure to be found.

::"Chorus"

:Then one Sunday the priest read me out from the altar,:Saying you'll end your days with your neck in a halter;:And you'll dance a fine jig betwix heaven and hell,:And his words they did haunt me the truth for to tell,

::"Chorus"

:So the very next morn as the dawn it did break,:I went down to the priest house the pledge for to take,:And in there in the room sat the priests in a bunch,:Round a big roaring fire drinking tumblers of punch,

::"Chorus"

:Well from that day to this I have wandered alone,:I'm a jack of all trades and a master of none,:With the sky for me roof and the earth for me floor,:And I'll dance out my days drinking whiskey galore,

::"Chorus"

References

*Ballindalloch Press (2002), [http://www.ballindalloch-press.com/songsample.pdf Song Sample]


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