The Rare Ould Times
Raised on songs and stories, heroes of renown
Ah, the passing tales and glories that once was Dublin town
The hallowed halls and houses, the haunting children's rhymes
That once was part of Dublin in the rare ould times
Ring a ring a rosey
As the light declines
I remember Dublin city
In the rare ould times
Well, my name, it is Sean Dempsey, as Dublin as can be
Born hard and late in Pimlico in a house that ceased to be
By trade I was a cooper, lost out to redundancy
Like my house that fell to progress, my trade's a memory
I courted Peggy Dignam, as pretty as you please
A rogue and child of Mary, from the rebel Libertines
I lost her to a student chap with skin as black as coal
When he took her off to Birmingham, well, she took away my soul
Ring a ring a rosey
As the light declines
I remember Dublin city
In the rare ould times
Well, the years have made me bitter, the gargle dims me brain
'Cause Dublin keeps on changing and nothing seems the same
The Pillar and the Met have gone, the Royal long since pulled down
As the grey unyielding concrete makes a city of my town
Ring a ring a rosey
As the light declines
I remember Dublin city
In the rare ould times
Fare thee well, sweet Anna Liffey, I can no longer stay
And watch the new glass cages that spring up along the quay
My mind's too full of memories, too old to hear new chimes
I'm a part of what was Dublin in the rare ould times
Ring a ring a rosey
As the light declines
I remember Dublin city
In the rare ould times
Ring a ring a rosey
As the light declines
I remember Dublin city
In the rare ould times