Star of the County Down (Cover) by Seth Staton Watkins

Star of the County Down (Cover) by Seth Staton Watkins

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"Star of the County Down" is an Irish ballad set near Banbridge in County Down, in Northern Ireland. The words are by Cathal MacGarvey (1866–1927) from Ramelton, County Donegal. The tune is traditional, and may be known as "Dives and Lazarus" or (as a hymn tune) "Kingsfold". My personal favorite rendition of this song is by the Orthodox Celts. But nearly everyone has had a go at it, and it is certainly a staple of the genre.

Lyrics:
Near Banbridge town in the county down
One morning last July
From a boreen green came a sweet Colleen
But she smiled as she passed me by
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
From the sheen of her nut brown hair
Such a coaxing girl, 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 I've 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 feelin' rare
And I say's, say's I, to a passer-by
"Whose the maid with the nut brown hair?"
He smiled at me and he says's, say's 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 I've seen like the brown Colleen
That I met in the county down
At the harvest fair she'll be surely there
So 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 plough turns rust coloured brown
Till a smiling bride, by my own fireside
Sits the star of the county down
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the brown Colleen
That I met in the county down
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the brown Colleen
That I met in the county down
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the brown Colleen
That I met in the county down