Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill

Irish comic song about a work crew, 1888.
words and music by Thomas Casey


The sheet music:


Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:


Lyrics

  1. Oh! ev’ry morn at seven o’clock
    There are twenty tarriers on the rock
    The boss comes along and says “be still
    And put all your power in the cast-steel drill”

Chorus
Then drill, ye tarriers, drill
Drill, ye tarriers, drill
Oh it’s work all day without sugar in your tay
when ye work beyant on the railway
And drill, ye tarriers, drill

  1. The boss was a fine man all around
    But he married a great, big, fat fardown
    She baked good bread and baked it well
    And baked it hard as the hobs of H—l
  2. The new foreman is Dan McCann
    I’ll tell you sure he’s a blame mean man
    Last week a premature blast went off
    And a mile in the air went big Jim Goff
  3. When pay day next it came around
    Poor Jim’s pay a dollar short he found
    “What for?” says he then came this reply
    “You were docked for the time you were up in the sky”

Sung here by Fred Feild: