Lyr Req:Irish grandpa born about 1878 sang a ditty

Subject: Irish grandpa born about 1878 sang a ditty
From:
Date: 10 Mar 99 - 09:53 AM

My grandfather sang a song about 'my sister kate swinging down by the garden gate' or something like that. I wonder if anyone knows all the words to that song. would appreciate any help. thanks. Dennis

Subject: RE: Irish grandpa born about 1878 sang a ditty
From: Mike Billo
Date: 10 Mar 99 - 10:36 AM

There's a song titled "Dear Old Donegal". and all I can remember is the chorus of "Shake hands with your uncle Mike my boy and here's your sister Kate. And there is the girl you used to swing down by the garden gate". Sounds like it might be the same one, but that's all I remember of it.

Subject: Lyr Add: DEAR OLD DONEGAL
From: Ferrara
Date: 10 Mar 99 - 10:49 AM

Dennis, could it have been this one?

DEAR OLD DONEGAL

1 It seems like only yesterday
I sailed from out of Cork
A wanderer from Erin's isle,
I landed in New York
There wasn't a soul to greet me there,
a stranger on your shore,
But the Irish luck was with me here,
and riches came galore.

And now that I'm going back again
to dear old Erin's isle,
My friends will meet me at the dock
and greet me with a smile
Their faces, sure, I've almost forgot,
I've been so long away,
But me mother will introduce them all,
and this to me will say: CHORUS: Shake hands with your uncle Mike, me boy,
And here is your sister Kate,
And there's the girl you used to swing
Down by the garden gate,
Shake hands with all of the neighbors,
And kiss the colleens all
You're as welcome as the flowers of spring
To Dear Old Donegal.

PATTER: Meet ...
Branigan, Flanagan, Milligan, Gilligan,
Duffy, McGuffy, Malachy, Mahone
Rafferty, Lafferty, Donnelly, Connelly,
Dooley, O'Hooley, Muldoney, Malone

Madigan, Cadigan, Lanigan, Flanigan
Fagin, O'Hagin, O'Hoolihan, Flynn
Shanihan, Manihan, Fogarty, Hogarty,
Kelly, O'Kelly, McGuinness, McGuinn.

2 They'll give a party when I go home,
they'll come from near and far.
They'll line the road for miles and miles
with Irish jaunting cars.
The whiskey will flow like buttermilk,
'twill fill our hearts with joy.
The piper will play an Irish reel
to greet the Yankee boy.

The dancers will reel the whole night long,
such fun as never seen.
The lads will be decked in corduroy,
the colleens wearin' green.
There'll be thousands there that I never saw,
I've been so long away,
But my mother will introduce them all
and this to me will say: (CHORUS )

(PATTER FOR 2D VERSE:) Meet ...
Madigan, Cadigan, Lanigan, Flanigan
Fagin, O'Hagin, O'Hoolihan, Flynn
Shanihan, Manihan, Fogarty, Hogarty,
Kelly, O'Kelly, McGuinness, McGuinn.

An almost-complete version of this was entered in a forum thread some time back, but I got a time-out error when I tried to find it so I went ahead and typed this in. Anyway this version is as complete/accurate as I could make it with a couple of years of sleuthing around. Hope it's the song you're looking for!

By the way, I had just finished typing some corrections to this into my lyrics file, based on a typed version I found in my father's stuff, not three minutes before I read your request. I do hope it's the song you're looking for! - Do you need the tune? - Rita F.

Subject: RE: Irish grandpa born about 1878 sang a ditty
From: Ferrara
Date: 10 Mar 99 - 10:51 AM

Whoops. A couple of errors here. I think the first four lines of patter were sung after the 1st verse, the second four, beginning with "Branigan," were sung after the 2d verse. When I do it, I usually sing them all because it cracks people up.

Subject: RE: Irish grandpa born about 1878 sang a ditty
From: ddmahoney
Date: 10 Mar 99 - 09:31 PM

To Rita Ferrara - Yes this is the song, I thank you so much for typing in the entire song. And yes I would like the tune. Thanks a load, I have been looking all over the internet for this song. Dennis

Subject: RE: Irish grandpa born about 1878 sang a ditty
From: robd
Date: 12 Mar 99 - 04:57 PM

Wow, this is amazing. I've been looking for this song for quite some time, but I didn't know what song I was actually looking for. Let me explain...

I knew that there was an Irish song somewhere with this tune, and I knew that I had heard the turn somewhere before, but when I heard Allan Sherman do a parody of it, I couldn't for life remember anything about the original.

Allan Sherman did,

Shake hands with your Uncle Max mine boy
And here's your sister Shirl
And here's your cousin Etta whose
Expecting another girl

And so on...