Lyrics

Rovin' Clans
Words & Music by Ray Collins

by the open road i've oft lit a fire
and cooked me grub smoke swirlin' round my eyes
above my head the wee birds in the skies
and a friendly nod 'n' wave to the passers-by

here's to ye all you rovin' clans

outta belfast town i first set foot
meanderin' lanes led me a wanderin' route
not knowing where i would end up next
when i got tired i just lay down to rest

in the glens of antrim i pitched my tent
it's manys the rare auld times there i've spent
there i met a fiddler with a hideous hump
he was drinkin' hard from a jug o' punch
toor a loor a loo toor a loor a lie

i next made tracks for derry town
in the bogside inn kept my head well down
'twas hard to leave the truth for to tell
the town that i had loved so well

made the galway races my next stop
but i lost my shirt on a long shot
i then got drunk and began to cry
threw up my guts in the fields of athenry

manys the sing-song we have had
'round blazin' bonfires on a crimson beach
we'd fill our lives with music song and talk
a bridge of friendship for us all to walk

those rovin' days are near at an end
the road i travel no longer bends
now it's angry highways and parkin' lots
snarlin' guard dogs and surly cops

all the times we've laughed and drank and sang
despite our heavy load
in heat and cold sleet and snow
on rough and ready roads
been evicted and decried as scum again and again
soon the old ways will be no more
than just a memory lane

copyright 1993 Colin Glen Music