The Ballad of Ronnie Drew
Here's to the Ronnie, the voice we adoreLike coals from a coal-bucket, scraping the floorSing out his praises in music and marchAnd if you are not Irish, that isn't your fault
Raise up our voices like guards in a packThankful for honest man, we never lackWe got them by twenties, we got them by onesTheir men, their daughters, and all of their sons
(Hey! Hey!)
Here's to you (Hey!), Ronnie Drew (Hey!)Here's to you (Hey!), Ronnie Drew (Hey!)Ronnie Drew (Hey! Hey!), we love you, yes we doHere's to you, Ronnie Drew, here's to you
I watched them plenty, through right and 'er wrongWhether I'm easy or whether I'm sureBut as she lifted her petticoat easy and slowI rolled up my sleeves for to buckle her shoe
Get up and work from five until fiveWhen the whistle says better, we'll come back aliveHe'll sing to the heavens, he's stormy as hellAnd wherever he goes, we'll be wishing him well
(Hey! Hey!)
Here's to you (Hey!), Ronnie Drew (Hey!)(Hey!) Here's to you (Hey!), Ronnie Drew (Hey!)Ronnie Drew (Hey!), we love you, yes we doHere's to you, Ronnie Drew, here's to you
The dawn and the dusk, the unwiseThe undusk gives and gets him gazeThe unheard, the unseen, the unwashedAnd the clean where the streets are handmadeBaggot Street, meets the street right on St. Stephen's StreetLovers and loners who can peer on your shouldersThe gods and the rapers, immigrants and traders, sing about him
A man for a man and a hand for a handTrust in the music, strike up the bandThe more that we sing, the less that we findTime and again, this is brood to be right
Build you a statue on St. Stephen's GreenNo fair or monument there to be seenA statue of Ronnie Drew, holding the handOf a girl with her hair in a black velvet band
(Hey! Hey!)
Here's to you (No stranger to dare), Ronnie Drew (Or angels to devil)Here's to you (A friend of a friend of a friend of a), Ronnie Drew (A friend to you)Ronnie Drew (Ronnie Drew), we love you, yes we doHere's to you, Ronnie Drew, here's to youHere's to you, Ronnie Drew, here's to you (Ronnie Drew)
I watched them plenty, through right and 'er wrongWhether I'm easy or whether I'm sureBut as she lifted her petticoat easy and slowI rolled up my sleeves for to buckle her shoe