I'll tell me ma, when I go home,
The boys won't leave the girls alone.
They pull my hair, they stole my comb,
And that's alright till I go home.
She is handsome, she is pretty,
She's the belle of Belfast city,
She is courtin', one, two, three,
Please won't you tell me who is she?

Albert Mooney says he loves her,
All the boys are fighting for her.
They rap at the door and they ring at the bell,
Saying 'Oh, my true-love are you well?'
Out she comes as white as snow,
Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes,
Old Jenny Murphy says she'll just die,
If she doesn't get the fellow with the roving eye.

Let the wind and the rain and the hail blow high
And the snow come tumblin' from the sky
She's as sweet as apple pie
And she'll get her own lad by and by.
When she gets a lad of her own
She won't tell her ma when she gets home
Let them all come as they will,
For it's Albert Mooney she loves still.

Wild Rover

I've been a wild rover for many a year,
And I spent all me money on whiskey and beer,
But now I'm returning with gold in great store,
And I never will play the wild rover no more.

And it's no, nay, never;
no, nay, never no more,
Will I play the wild rover?
No, never, no more.

I went back to an alehouse I used to frequent,
And I told the landlady me money was spent.
I asked her for credit, she answered me, "Nay,
Such a custom as yours I can have any day."

Then out of me pockets, I pulled sovereigns bright,
And the landlady's eyes opened wide with delight.
She said, "I have whiskey and ale of the best,
And the words that I spoke sure were only in jest ."

I'll go back to me parents, confess what I've done,
And I'll ask them to pardon their prodigal son,
And if they recieve me, as oft' times before,
Then I never will play the wild rover no more.

Black Velvet Band

In a neat little town they call Belfast,
apprenticed to trade I was found
And many the hours of sweet happiness,
I spent in that quaint little town.
Until bad misfortune came o'r me,
that caused me to stray from the land
Far away from my friends and relations
to follow the Black Velvet Band

And her eyes, they shown like the diamonds
You'd think she was the queen of the land
And her hair hung over her shoulders
Tied up in a black velvet band

Well as I was out strolling along evening,
not intending to go very far
I met with a ficklesome damsel,
selling her trade in a bar
A watch she took from a customer
and slipped it right into my hand
Then the law came and put me in prison
access to the black velvet band

Now seven long years is my sentence,
I'll be going down to Van Dieman's Land,
Far away from me friends and relations,
to follow a black velvet band.
So come all you jolly young fellows,
I'll have ye take warning by me
And whenever your into the liquor, me boys,
beware of that pretty colleen.

Hills of Connemara

Gather up the pots and the old tin can
The mash, the corn, the barley and the bran
Run like the devil from the excise man
Keep the smoke from rising, Barney

Keep your eyes well peeled today
The excise men are on their way
Searching for the mountain tay
In the Hills of Connemara

Swing to the left and swing to the right
The excise men will dance all night
Drinking up the tay till the broad daylight
In the Hills of Connemara

A gallon for the butcher, a quart for Tom
A bottle for poor old Father Jon
To help the poor old preist along
In the Hills of Connemara.

Stand your ground, it is too late
The excise men are at the gate
Glory be to Paddy, but they're drinking it straight
In the Hills of Connemara

Over the Mountains

Over the mountains and over the waves,
Under the fountains and under the graves;
Under floods that are deepest, which Neptune obey,
Over rocks that are steepest, love will find out the way.

You may esteem him a child for his might;
Or you may deem him a coward for his fight;
But if she whom Love doth honor
Be concealed from the day
Set a thousand guards upon her,
love will find out the way.

Some think to lose him by having him confined;
And some do suppose him, poor heart! to be blind;
But if ne'er so close ye wall him, do the best that ye may,
Blind Love, if ye so call him, he will find out the way.

You may train the eagle to stoop to your fist;
Or you may inveigle The Phoenix of the east;
The lioness, you may move her to give over her prey;
But you'll never stop a lover he will find out the way.

There is no striving to cross his intent;
There is no contriving his plots to prevent;
But if once the message greet him
that his True Love doth stay,
If Death should come and meet him,
love will find out the way!

Quare Bungle Rye

Now Jack was a sailor who roamed on the town
And she was a damsel who skipped up and down
Said the damsel to Jack as she passed him by
Would you like for to purchase some
Quare Bungle Rye raddy rye?
Fol de diddle rye raddy rye raddy rye

Thought Jack to himself, "Now what can this be?
But the finest old whiskey from high Germany
Smuggled up in a basket and sold on the sly
And the name that it goes by is
Quare Bungle Rye raddy rye
Fol de diddle rye raddy rye raddy rye"

Jack hands her a shilling and he thought nothing strange
She says, "Here hold the basket
while I run for your change"
Jack peeked in the basket and a babe he did spy
"Why, b'damn me" says Jack, this is
Quare Bungle Rye raddy rye
Fol de diddle rye raddy rye raddy rye

Now to get the child christened was Jack's first intent
So to get the child christened, to the parson he went
Says the parson to Jack, "What's the name he'll go by?"
"Ah, b'damn me" says Jack, call him
Quare Bungle Rye raddy rye
Fol de diddle rye raddy rye raddy rye

Said the parson to Jack, "That's a mighty quare name"
Says Jack to the parson, "It's a quare way he came
Smuggled up in a basket and sold on the sly
And the name that he'll go by is
Quare Bungle Rye raddy rye
Fol de diddle rye raddy rye raddy rye

Johnny Jump Up

Come and listen, I'll tell you what happened to me
One day as I went down to Cork by the sea
The day it was hot and the sun it was warm,
So says I a quiet pint wouldn't do me no harm
I went in and I called for a bottle of stout
Says the barman, I'm sorry, all the beer is sold out
Try whiskey or paddy, ten years in the wood
Says I, I'll try cider, I've heard it was good.

Oh never, Oh never, Oh never again
If I live to be a hundred or a hundred and ten
I fell to the ground and I couldn't get up
After drinking a quart of the Johnny Jump Up

After downing the third I went out to the yard
Where I bumped into Brody, the big civic guard
Come here to me boy, don't you know I'm the law?
Well, I up with me fist and I shattered his jaw
He fell to the ground with his knees doubled up
But it wasn't I hit him, 'twas Johnny Jump Up
The next thing I remember down in Cork by the sea
Was a cripple on crutches and says he to me
I'm afraid of me life I'll be hit by a car
Won't you help me across to the Celtic Knot Bar?
After drinking a quart of that cider so sweet
He threw down his crutches and danced on his feet

I went down the lee road, a friend for to see
They call it the madhouse in Cork by the Sea
Well when I got there, sure the truth I will tell,
They had this poor bugger locked up in a cell
Said the guard, testing him, say these words if you can
Around the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran
Tell him I'm not crazy, tell him I'm not mad
It was only a sip of the bottle I had

So if ever you go down to Cork by the sea
Stay out of the ale house and take it from me
If you want to stay sane don't you dare take a sup
Of that devil drink cider called Johnny Jump Up

Skye Boat Song

Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing
Onward, the sailors cry
Carry the lad that's born to be king
Over the sea to Skye.

Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar
Thunder clouds rend the air
Baffled our foes stand on the shore
Follow they will not dare.

Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep
Ocean's a royal bed
Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head.

Many's the lad fought on that day
Well the claymore could wield
When the night came, silently lay
Dead on Culloden's field.

Burned are our homes, exile and death
Scatter the loyal men
Yet, e'er the sword cool in the sheath
Charlie will come again.

The Work of the Weavers

We're all met t'gether here to sit an' to crack
With our glasses in our hands and our wark upon our back
An' there's nae trade among 'em that can either mend or mak'
If it wasna' for the wark of the weavers!

If it wasna' for the weavers, what would y'do?
Y'wouldna' hae clothes made of wool
Y'wouldna' hae your cloak of the black or the blue
If it wasna' for the wark of the weavers!

The hireman chiels they mock us and they crack us aye aboot's
They say that we are thin-faced an' bleached like cloots
But yet, for a' their mockery they canna dae wi'oots
Na! They canna want the wark of the weavers!

There's folk that independent of other trademen's wark
The women need nae barber, and the dykers need nae clark,
But none of 'em can dae wi'oot a coat or a sark
Na! They canna want the wark of the weavers!

Now weavin' is a trade that niver can fail
As lang as we need clothes for t'keep another hale
Sae let us all be merry wi' a beaker of guid ale
And we'll drink tae the health of the weavers!

Wild Mountain Thyme

Oh, the summertime is comin',
And the trees are softly blooming,
and the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?

I will build my love a bower
By yon clear and crystal fountain
And on it I will pile
All the flowers of the mountain.
Will ye go, lassie, go?

And we'll all go together
to pull wild mountain thyme
from around the blooming heather.
Will ye go, lassie, will ye go?

I will build my love a shelter
On yon high mountain green,
And my love shall be the fairest
These mountains have ever seen

Will ye go, lassie, go?
And we'll all go together
to pull wild mountain thyme
from around the blooming heather.
Will ye go, lassie, will ye go?

Mr Buccaneer (with soliloquy)
Douglys/D Askins

How have you been doing?
What cha been up to?
Tell us Mr. Buccaneer
How's it been for you?

Have you kissed the mermaids
Under skies of blue?
Listening to the sirens' song
Wondering what to do

If you'd like to tell us
We would love to hear
Share some of your rum with us
And we will be all ears

Have you been splashing with the dolphins?
Swimming with the whale?
A calm and quiet ocean
Up comes a feisty gale!

Swinging round the masthead
Lightening, rain, and wind
Did you ever wonder
When would your journey end?

We would really love to hear
What cha been up to
Tell us Mr. Buccaneer
How's it been for you?

"Like the bright hair uplifted from the head
Of some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge
Of the horizon to the zenith's height,
The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge
Of the dying year, to which this closing night
Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre,
Vaulted with all thy congregated might
Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere
Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst: oh hear!
Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams
The blue Mediterranean, where he lay,
Lull'd by the coil of his crystàlline streams,
Beside a pumice isle in Baiae's bay,
And saw in sleep old palaces and towers
Quivering within the wave's intenser day,
All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
So sweet, the senses faint picturing them!"+

*The Mermaid*
(Parrot verse by Douglys)

It was Friday morning, when we set sail,
We were not far from the land,
When our captain, he spied a mermaid so fair,
With a comb and a glass in her hand.

And the ocean waves do roll, and the stormy winds may blow,
We poor sailors, are skipping at the top,
While the landlubbers lie down below, below, below,
While the landlubbers lie down below.

Then up spoke the captain of our gallant ship,
And a fine old man was he,
He said, "This fishy mermaid has warned me of our doom:
We shall sink to the bottom of the sea!"

Then up spoke the cook of our gallant ship,
And a crazy old butcher was he,
He said, "I care much more for me pots and me pans,
Than I do for the bottom of the sea!"

Then up spoke the parrot of our gallant ship,
And a fine spoken bird was he,
He said, "I'd much rather be flyin' across the sea,
But tonight, shark-bait I will be!"."

Then three times 'round, spun our gallant ship;
And three times 'round spun she,
Three times 'round, spun our gallant ship;
And she sailed to the bottom of the sea.

The Parting Glass

Oh all the money e'er I had,
I spent it in good company
And all the harm I've ever done,
alas, it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
to memory now I can't recall.
So fill to me the parting glass,
good night and joy be with you all.

Oh all the comrads e'er I had
are sorry for my goin' away
And all the sweethearts that e'er I had
would wish me one more day to stay.
But since it falls unto my lot
that I should rise and you should not
I'll gently rise and softly call
good night and joy be with you all.

If I had money enough to spend,
and leisure time to sit awhile,
There is a fair maid in this town,
who sorely has my heart beguiled
Her rosey cheeks and ruby lips,
I own she has my heart in thrall,
So fill to me the Parting glass,
goodnight and joy be with you all.

^-^ ^-^ ^-^ ^-^ ^-^ ^-^

All songs traditional except Mr Buccaneer (with soliloquy)
words and music by Douglys/D Askins
+{Mr Buccaneer's soliloquy from
PB Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind"}

Vocals, guitars, mandolin, djembe and bodhran drums,
and percussion by Douglys and Bella

Very Special Guest Appeerances by:

^Viktoria Brown on Violin

~Patrick Harvey on Irish Harp

*Leghorn the Piper on Bagpipes

Peer Pleasure: Unabashed praise of
'Disk O' Peers',
from it's very own humble yet honest
guest minstrels!

Viktoria Brown: "'Disk O' Peers' is the best piece from Howl-o yet! It has a theme of mystery, menace, and best of all, a ghostly rerecording of 'Mr Buccaneer' (my personal favorite original song from Howl-o!). If you like Renn music, there's no possible way you won't enjoy this CD."

Patrick Harvey: "Friends ! Rennies ! Countrymen !
Lend Howl-o your ears ! Listening to (and helping with)
"The Disk - O - Peers" was the most fun I've ever had -- in the daytime !"

Leghorn the Piper: "You are still taking the same old songs and giving them a brand new Howl of a Twist."