The Star of County Down | Young Rose Mc Cann From the Banks of the River...

Capture the charm and spirit of rural Ireland quite like The Star of the County Down. Set in Banbridge, County Down, it tells the story of a young man who falls in love at first sight with a beautiful girl he meets on market day — the “star” herself. Believed to have originated in the late 19th century, the melody comes from an old Irish air called Dives and Lazarus. Over the years, the song has been re-imagined by everyone from The Dubliners to Van Morrison, and remains one of the most performed pieces in traditional Irish music. This version keeps the heart of the story alive — romantic, melodic, and unmistakably Irish.Few songs cap

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Lyrics


Near Banbridge Town in the County Down,
One morning in July,
Down a comely lane came a sweet colleen,
And she smiled as she passed me by;
She look’d so sweet from her two white feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair,
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself,
To make sure I was standing there.
[Chorus]
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.
[verse 2]
As she onward sped, I scratch’d my head,
And I gazed with a feeling rare,
And I said, says I, to a passer-by,
“Who’s the maid with the nut-brown hair?”
He smiled at me, and he said, says he,
“She’s the gem of Ireland’s crown,
She’s young Rose McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She’s the Star of the County Down.”
[chorus]
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.
[verse 3]
I’ve travell’d a bit, but never was hit
Since my rovin’ career began;
But fair and square I surrender’d there
To the charms of young Rose McCann.
I had heart to let, and no tenant yet
Did I meet within shawl or gown,
Till in she went, and I ask’d no rent
Of the Star of the County Down.
[chorus]
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.
[verse 4]
At the cross-roads fair I’ll surely be there,
And I’ll dress in my Sunday clothes,
With my hat cock’d right and my shoes shone bright
For a smile from my nut-brown Rose.

No pipe I’ll smoke, no horse I’ll yoke,
Tho’ with rust my plough turns brown,
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the Star of the County Down.
[chorus]
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.


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