Near to Banbridge town in the county Down
One morning last July
From a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair
Such a coaxing elf sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid have I seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the county Down
As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head
And I looked with a feeling rare
And I says, says I to a passer-by:
"Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair"
He smiled at me and he says, says he:
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann
She's the star of the county Down"
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid have I seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the county Down
She'd a soft brown eye and a look so sly
And a smile like a rose in June
And you hung on each note from her lilly-white throat
As she lilted an Irish tune
At the pattern dance you were held in a trance
As she skipped to a reel or a jig
When her eyes she'd roll, she'd coax upon my soul
A spud from a hungry pig
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid have I seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the county Down
I've travelled a bit but never was hit
Since my roving career began
But fair and square I surrendered there
To the charm of young Rosie McCann
With a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet with a shawl or gown
But in she went and I asked no rent
From the star of the county Down
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid have I seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the county Down
At the harvest fair she'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked right
For a smile from my nut-brown Rose
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
'Till my plow turns rust-coloured brown
'Till a smiling bride, by my own fire-side
Sits the star of the county Down
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid have I seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the county Down