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Raised on songs and stories, heroes of renown,
Ah, the passing tales and glories that once was Dublin town;
The hallowed halls and houses, the haunting children's rhymes,
That once was part of Dublin in the rare old times.
Ring-a-ring-a-rosie as the light declines,
I remember Dublin city in the rare old times.
My name it is Séan Dempsey, as Dublin as can be,
Born hard and late in Pimlico, in a house that ceased to be;
By trade I was a cooper, lost out to redundancy,
Like my house that fell to progress, my trade to memory.
I courted Peggy Diegnan, as pretty as you please,
Oh, the rogue and a child of Mary from the rebel Liberty;
I lost her to a student lad, with skin as black as coal,
When he took her off to Birmingham, she took away my soul.
Ring-a-ring-a-rosie as the light declines,
I remember Dublin city in the rare old times.
Ah, the years have made me bitter, the drink has dimmed my brain,
For Dublin keeps on changing, oh, nothing seems the same;
The Metropole and Pillar are gone, the Royal long since pulled down,
As the gray unyielding concrete makes a city of my town.
Farewell, Anna Liffey, I can no longer stay,
And watch the new glass cages that rise up along the quay;
My mind's too full of memories, too old to hear new chimes,
I'm a part of what was Dublin, in the rare old times.
Ring-a-ring-a-rosie as the light declines,
I remember Dublin city in the rare old times.
So, ring-a-ring-a-rosie as the light declines,
I remember Dublin city in the rare old times.
This variant arranged and recorded by Ryan's Fancy (Irish Love Songs, trk#5, 1982, Boot Records, Mississauga, Ontario).
See more songs by Ryan's Fancy.
The Pillar refers to Lord Nelson's Pillar which was destroyed by a bomb in 1966.
The YouTube video below features a recording of a variant by The Dubliners.
See more songs by The Dubliners.
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Notes On Guitar Tabs:
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All guitar tabs have been contributed by visitors to this site and represent their interpretation of the tune. We are unable to verify their accuracy.
[C] Raised on songs and [F] stories, [C] he-[Am] roes of [F] renown,
The [C] passing [Em] tales and [F] glories, that [G] once was Dublin town;
The [C] hallowed [F] halls and [C] houses, the [Am] haunting children's [F] rhymes,
That [C] once was [Em] Dublin city [F] in the [G7] rare ould [C] times.
