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Oh, the night that Paddy Murphy died is a night that I'll never forget,
'Cause some of the girls got loaded drunk [bad girls] and they ain't been sober yet;
But as long as a bottle was passed around every man was feelin' gay,
But O'Leary came with the bagpipes the music for to play.
That's how they showed their respect for Paddy Murphy,
That's how they showed their honour and their pride;
They said it was a sin and shame and they winked at one another,
Every drink in the place was full the night Pat Murphy died.
As Mrs. Murphy sat in corner pouring out her grief,
Kelly and his gang came tearing down the street;
They went into an empty room and a bottle of whiskey stole,
Put the bottle with the corpse to keep their whiskey cold.
That's how they showed their respect for Paddy Murphy,
That's how they showed their honour and their pride;
They said it was a sin and shame and they winked at one another,
Every drink in the place was full the night Pat Murphy died.
About two o'clock in the morning after emptying their jug,
Doyle lifts up the ice box lid and seen poor Paddy's mug;
We fixed the clock so Mrs. Murphy couldn't tell the time,
At a quarter after two we argued it was nine.
That's how they showed their respect for Paddy Murphy,
That's how they showed their honour and their pride;
They said it was a sin and shame and they winked at one another,
Every drink in the place was full the night Pat Murphy died.
We stopped to rehearse outside Sundance Saloon,
We all went in at half past eight and we staggered out at noon;
Went up to the graveyard, so holy and sublime,
Found out when we got there, they'd left the corpse behind!
That's how they showed their respect for Paddy Murphy,
That's how they showed their honour and their pride;
They said it was a sin and shame and they winked at one another,
Every drink in the place was full the night Pat Murphy died.
Oh, the night that Paddy Murphy died is a night I'll never forget,
Some of the girls got loaded drunk and they ain't been sober yet;
As long as a bottle was passed around every man was feelin' gay,
O'Leary came with the bagpipes the music for to play.
That's how they showed their respect for Paddy Murphy,
That's how they showed their honour and their pride;
They said it was a sin and shame and they winked at one another,
Every drink in the place was full the night Pat Murphy died.
Well, every drink in the place was full the night Pat Murphy died! Died! Died!
See more songs by Johnny Burke.
This variant was arranged and recorded by Great Big Sea (Play, trk#3, 1997, Warner Music Canada, Scarborough, ON, produced by Danny Greenspoon); and (Rant & Roar, 1998); and (Great Big DVD, 2004).
See more songs by Great Big Sea.
A variant was also recorded 24 years earlier as The Night That Paddy Murphy Died by Ryan's Fancy (Newfoundland Drinking Songs, ©1973, Audat Records).
