| Near Banbridge town, in the County Down
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| One mornin' last July
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| Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín
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| And she smiled as she passed me by
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| Oh, she looked so sweet from her two bare feet
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| To the sheen of her nut-brown hair
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| Such a whimsome elf, that I pinched myself
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| For to see I was standing there
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| From the Bantry Bay to the Derry Quay
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| And from Galway to Dublin town
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| No maid I’ve seen like the sweet cailín
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| That I met in the County Down
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| As she onward sped while I scratched my head
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| And I looked with a feeling rare
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| And I said, says I, to a passer-by
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| «Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?»
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| Well, he smiled at me, and he said, says he
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| «She's the gem of Ireland’s crown
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| Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann
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| She’s the star of the County Down.»
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| And from Bantry Bay to the Derry Quay
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| And from Galway to Dublin town
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| No maid I’ve seen like the sweet cailín
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| That I met in the County Down
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| Well, I’ve travelled a bit, but I never been hit
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| Since my roving career began
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| Got me fair and square, I surrendered there
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| To the charm of Rosie McCann
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| With a heart to let and no tenant yet
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| Did I meet and a row began
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| But in she went and I asked no rent
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| From the star of the County Down
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| From the Bantry Bay to the Derry Quay
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| And from Galway to Dublin town
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| No maid I’ve seen like the sweet cailín
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| That I met in the County Down |