Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye Lyrics
The Irish RoversMusic Video
Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy
A stick in me hand and a drop in me eye
A doleful damsel I heard cry,
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh darling dear, Ye look so queer
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
Where are the eyes that looked so mild, hurroo, hurroo
Where are the eyes that looked so mild, hurroo, hurroo
Where are the eyes that looked so mild
When my poor heart you first beguiled
Why did ye run from me and the child
Johnny, I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh darling dear, Ye look so queer
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
Where are the legs with which you run, hurroo, hurroo
Where are the legs with which you run, hurroo, hurroo
Where are the legs with which you run
When first you went to carry a gun
Indeed your dancing days are done
Johnny, I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh darling dear, Ye look so queer
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg
Ye're an armless, boneless, chickenless egg
Ye'll have to be left with a bowl to beg
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh darling dear, Ye look so queer
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
I'm happy for to see ye home, hurroo, hurroo
I'm happy for to see ye home, hurroo, hurroo
I'm happy for to see ye home
All from the island of Ceylon
So low in the flesh, so high in the bone
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh darling dear, Ye look so queer
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
They're rolling out the guns again, hurroo, hurroo
They're rolling out the guns again, hurroo, hurroo
They're rolling out the guns again
But they never will take my sons again
No they'll never take my sons again
Johnny I'm swearing to ye.
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh darling dear, Ye look so queer
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
Song Details

✍️ Composer: Traditional
✍️ Lyricist: Traditional
🎶 Music: Adapted to the tune of 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home'.
📅 Earliest Printed Source: 1866 (Roud 3137)
✍️ Other Titles: Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya, Johnny, I Hardly Knew You
Some modern sources attribute the song to Joseph B. Geoghegan, but early printed versions do not name an author, and most folk collections classify it as traditional... learn more📝 Song Brief:
The song is a monologue by a woman who meets her former lover on the road to Athy. After the birth of their child, he left to become a soldier and now returns severely injured, having lost limbs and sight in fighting overseas. Shocked at first, she eventually recognises him and recalls their time together. She speaks of the life they once shared and reflects on the hardship he now faces. The song is often understood as a reminder of the human cost of war.
🎻 Genre: Anti-war
👥 Covers: Dropkick Murphys, Luxon, The Clancy Brothers, De Dannan, The Dubliners, The Tossers, Brendan O'Dowda, Maureen O'Hara.
🎤 Featured Artists: The Irish Rovers
💿 Album: 50 Years - Greatest Hits
Released: March 1, 2014
Country: Canada
Format: 3 x CD
Label: Rover Records
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