Star of the County Down

Near Banbridge town, in the County Down
One morning last July
Down the bóithrín green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by

Oh, she looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair
Such a whimsome elf, that I pinched myself
For to see I was standing there

From the Bantry Bay to the Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down

As she onward sped, well I scratched my head
And I looked with a feeling rare
And I said, says I, to a passerby
"Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?"

And he smiled at me, and he said, says he
"She's the gem of Ireland's crown
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann
She's the star of the County Down"

From the Bantry Bay to the Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down

Well, I've travelled a bit, but I never been hit
Since my roving career began
Got me fair and square, I surrendered there
To the charms of old Roise McCann

With a a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet and a row began
But in she went, and I asked no rent
From the star of the County Down

From the Bantry Bay to the Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down