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I remember the night that he came in from the wintery cold and damp |
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A giant of a man in an oilskin coat and the bundle that told he was a tramp |
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He stood at the bar and he called a pint then turned and gazed at the fire |
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On a night like this to be safe and dry is my one and only desire. |
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[Chorus:] |
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So here's to those that are dead and gone |
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The friends that I loved dear |
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And here's to you then I'll bid you adieu |
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Saying Donegal Danny's been here me boys |
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Donegal Danny's been here |
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Then in a voice that was hushed and low he said: Listen I'll tell you a tale |
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How a man of the sea became a man of the roads and never more will set sail |
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I've fished out of Howth and Killybegs, Ardglass and Baltimore |
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But the cruel sea has beaten me and I'll end my days on the shore |
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[Chorus] |
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One fateful night in the wind and the rain we set sail from Killybegs town |
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There were five of us from sweet Donegal and one from County Down |
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We were fishermen who worked the sea and never counted the cost |
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But I never thought when that night was done that my fine friends would all be lost |
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[Chorus] |
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Then the storm it broke and drove the boat to the rocks about ten miles from shore |
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As we fought the tide we hoped inside to see our homes once more |
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Then we struck a rock and holed the bow and all of us knew that she'd go down |
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So we jumped right into the icy sea and prayed to God we wouldn't drown |
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But the raging sea was rising still as we struck out for the land |
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And she fought with all her cruelty to claim that gallant band |
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By St John's Point in the early dawn I dragged myself on the shore |
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And I cursed the sea for what she'd done and vowed to sail her never more |
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[Chorus] |
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Ever since that night I've been on the road travelling and trying to forget |
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That awful night I lost all my friends I see their faces yet |
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And often at night when the sea is high and the rain is tearing at my skin |
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I hear the cries of drowning men floating over on the wind |
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[Chorus] |