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Archiver > NY-IRISH > 2002-03 > 1015008554


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Subject: [NY IRISH] When New York Was Irish
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 13:49:14 EST


We're getting closer and closer, it's time for another NY/Irish song:

When New York Was Irish

I'll sing you a song of days long ago,
When people from Galway and the County Mayo
And all over Ireland, came over to stay,
And take up a new life in Amerikay.

(Chorus) They were ever so happy, they were ever so sad,
To grow old in a new world, through good times and bad,
All the parties and weddings, the cealies and wakes,
When New York was Irish, full of joys and heartbreaks.

We worked on the subway, we ran the saloons,
We built all the bridges, we played all the tunes,
We put out the fires, and controlled City Hall,
We started with nothing, and wound up with it all.

(Chorus) They were ever so happy........

You could travel to Kingsbridge, to Queens or midtown,
From Highbridge to Bay Ridge, from uptown to down,
From the East Side to the seaside's sweet Summer scenes,
We made New York City our island of dreams.

Chorus) They were ever so happy.....

I look at the photos, now brittle with time,
Of the people I cherished when the city was mine,
Oh, how I loved all those radiant smiles,
How I long for the days when we danced in the aisles.

(Chorus) They were ever so happy, they were ever so sad,
To grow old in a new world, through good times and bad,
All the parties and weddings, the cealies and wakes,
When New York was Irish, full of joys and heartbreaks.

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The annual Staten Island (a.k.a. the forgotten borough) St. Patrick's Day
parade will be held this year on the Big Day itself, rather than on an
alternative weekend as is customary. The parade committee bills it as the
third biggest in America, a claim which I will promptly throw out for debate,
and skedaddle to a safe haven. In any event, make sure to enjoy it.

Jack Langton


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