Tim Finnegan's Wake

Tommy Makem

Tim Finnegan lived in Walkin Street

A gentle Irishman, mighty odd

He'd a beautiful brogue so rich and sweet

And to rise in the world he carried a hod

You see he'd a sort of the tipp' lin' way

With the love of the liquor, poor Tim was born

And to help him on with his work each day

He'd a drop of the craythur every morn



Chorus:

Whack fol the da, now, dance to your partner

Welt the floor your trotters shake

Wasn't it the truth I tell you

Lots of fun at Finnegan's wake



One mornin' Tim was rather full

His head felt heavy, which made him shake

He fell from the ladder and he broke his skull

And they carried him home his corpse to wake

They rolled him up in a nice clean sheet

And laid him out upon the bed

With a gallon of whiskey at his feet

And a barrel of porter at his head



His friends assembled at the wake

And Mrs. Finnegan called for lunch

First they brought in tay 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 Paddy McGee



Then Maggie O'Connor took up the job

"O Biddy," says she "you're wrong I'm sure"

Biddy gave her a belt in the gob

And left her sprawling on the floor

Then the war did soon engage

It was woman to woman and man to man

Shillelagh law was all the rage

And a row and a ruction soon began



Then Mickey Maloney raised his head

When a bucket of whiskey flew at him

It missed and falling on the bed

The liquor scattered over Tim

Tim revives, see how he rises

Timothy rising from the bed

Said "Whirl your whiskey around like blazes

Thundering Jesus, do you think I'm dead?"