Near Banbridge Town in the County Down, One morning last July
From a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín, And she smiled as she passed me by
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet, To the sheen of her nut brown hair
Such a winsome elf, I?m ashamed of myself For to see I was staring there
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and from Galway to Dublin Town
No maid I've seen like the fair cailín that I met in the County Down
Verse: 2
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"?
Well, he looked at me, and he said to me, "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 fair cailín that I met in the County Down
Verse: 3
She'd soft brown eyes with a look so shy and a smile like a rose in June
And she sang so sweet what a lovely treat as she lilted an Irish tune
At the Lammas dance I was in a trance as she whirled with the lads of the town
And it broke my heart just to be apart from the star of the County Down
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and from Galway to Dublin Town
Verse: 4
At the Harvest Fair she'll be surely there and 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 is a rust coloured brown
And a smiling bride, by my own fireside sits the star of the County Down