A 1903 popular song.
Words by J. Hickory Wood.
Music by Ernest Hastings.
Song suggested by Ross Boyle.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
We read the English papers
And it seemed to us, bedad
That all the boys in England
Had been taken walking mad
So we thought we’d show the English men
How Irishmen could walk
And we organised a walking match
From Ballyslush to Cork
We couldn’t walk for nothing
So we thought we’d advertise
To see if anybody would present us with a prize
But nobody responded, so we charged an entrance fee
We all gave what we could
And, if we couldn’t we were free
I gave them a three-penny bit
And Micky gave them a bob
Because he had a child at home
With a money box to rob
Barney and Pat gave nine-pence each
But Shaughnessy gave the most
And the prize was a gallon of whiskey neat
To be drunk at the winning post
(more lyrics on the sheet music)