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by Johnny Burke (1851-1930), a popular Newfoundland folk song.
Although made popular again recently by Great Big Sky, Nate prefers to do a shorter version, removing several verses and sticking closer to the original lyrics in the chorus.
Night That Paddy Murphy Died
by Johnny Burke
Oh, the [G] night that Paddy Murphy died, is a [D] night I’ll never for- [G] get
[G] Some of the boys got roarin’ drunk, and [C] some ain’t got sober [D] yet;
As [G] long as a bottle was passed around the [D] lads were feelin’ [G] gay
O’ [G] Leary [D] came with his [C] bag- [G] pipes, the [C] music [D] for to [G] play
( Chorus
And that’s how they paid their respects to Paddy Murphy
That’s how they showed their honour and their pride
They said it was a sin and a shame and they winked at one another
and every drink in the wakehouse went, the night Pat Murphy died )
Mrs. Murphy in the corner, was pourin’ out her grief
When Kelly and the lads, the dirty roarin’ thieves
They crept into the ante room and a bottle of whiskey stole
They placed the bottle on the corpse to keep the liquor cold
Chorus
At eight o’clock in the morning, the procession left the house
And everyone but poor ol’ Mrs. Murphy was half soused
They stopped a bit along the way at the Blarney Stone Saloon
They went inside at nine o’clock and didn’t leave ‘til noon
Chorus
Someone asked ol’ Finnegan if anyone had died
“No,” says he, “I’m not quite sure, I just came for the ride.”
They started for the graveyard, then all walkin’ in a line,
But when they reached the grave they found, they’d left the corpse behind
Chorus
Repeat First Verse
Chorus X2 - acapella ending
[G] Some of the boys got roarin’ drunk, and [C] some ain’t got sober [D] yet;
As [G] long as a bottle was passed around the [D] lads were feelin’ [G] gay
O’ [G] Leary [D] came with his [C] bag- [G] pipes, the [C] music [D] for to [G] play
( Chorus
And that’s how they paid their respects to Paddy Murphy
That’s how they showed their honour and their pride
They said it was a sin and a shame and they winked at one another
and every drink in the wakehouse went, the night Pat Murphy died )
Mrs. Murphy in the corner, was pourin’ out her grief
When Kelly and the lads, the dirty roarin’ thieves
They crept into the ante room and a bottle of whiskey stole
They placed the bottle on the corpse to keep the liquor cold
Chorus
At eight o’clock in the morning, the procession left the house
And everyone but poor ol’ Mrs. Murphy was half soused
They stopped a bit along the way at the Blarney Stone Saloon
They went inside at nine o’clock and didn’t leave ‘til noon
Chorus
Someone asked ol’ Finnegan if anyone had died
“No,” says he, “I’m not quite sure, I just came for the ride.”
They started for the graveyard, then all walkin’ in a line,
But when they reached the grave they found, they’d left the corpse behind
Chorus
Repeat First Verse
Chorus X2 - acapella ending