The Kerry Recruit Lyrics
Version 1 - The Corrie Folk TrioVersion 2 - The Dubliners
Music Video
The Kerry Recruit - The Corrie Folk Trio
At the age of nineteen, I was pickin' the land
With me brogues on me feet and me spade in me hand.
Well says I to myself, "What a pity to see
Such a fine Kerry lad diggin' turf in Tralee."
With your Kerry-I-ah, Fal-da Da-lal-da,
Kerry-I-ah, Fal-dal Da-lal-day.
So I buttered me brogues and shook hands with me spade
Dashed off to the fair like a gallant young blade.
The sergeant comes up, says "Will you enlist?"
"Sure, sergeant," says I, "Slip the bob in me fist".
With your Kerry-I-ah, Fal-da Da-lal-da,
Kerry-I-ah, Fal-dal Da-lal-day.
There up comes the captain, and a man of great fame,
Straightway he asks me my country and name;
Well, I told you before I'll tell you again
Me father and mother were both Kerry men.
With your Kerry-I-ah, Fal-da Da-lal-da,
Kerry-I-ah, Fal-dal Da-lal-day.
Now the first thing they gave me, they called it a gun,
And under the trigger I nestled me thumb.
The gun it spat fire, and vomited smoke
And it gave a great leap and me shoulder near broke.
With your Kerry-I-ah, Fal-da Da-lal-da,
Kerry-I-ah, Fal-dal Da-lal-day.
Now the first place they took me was down by the sea,
On board a great warship, bound for the Crimea,
Three sticks in the middle, all hung with great sheets
Sure she walked on the water without any feet.
With your Kerry-I-ah, Fal-da Da-lal-da,
Kerry-I-ah, Fal-dal Da-lal-day.
We reached Balaclava all safe and all sound,
And wet tired and weary we lay on the ground.
At morning at daybreak a bugle did call,
And they served us a breakfast of powder and ball.
With your Kerry-I-ah, Fal-da Da-lal-da,
Kerry-I-ah, Fal-dal Da-lal-day.
Now we whipped them at Alma likewise Inkerman
But the Russians they foiled us along the Redan.
While scaling a rampart meself lost an eye
And a great Russian bullet ran away with me thigh.
With your Kerry-I-ah, Fal-da Da-lal-da,
Kerry-I-ah, Fal-dal Da-lal-day.
Then a surgeon comes up and he soon stops the blood,
And they gave me an elegant leg made of wood;
And they gave me a pension of tenpence a day
Contented with shellacs I live on half-pay.
With your Kerry-I-ah, Fal-da Da-lal-da,
Kerry-I-ah, Fal-dal Da-lal-day.
Oh, there is the story that me grandfather told
As he sat by the fire all withered and old;
"Remember," says he, "that the Irish fight well,
But the Russian artillery's hotter than hell."
With your Kerry-I-ah, Fal-da Da-lal-da,
Kerry-I-ah, Fal-dal Da-lal-day.
Song Details
✍️ Author: Unknown
📅 Earliest Date: before 1849 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(1454))
✍️ Alternate Titles: The Listing of the Spademan, Paddy Turned Soldier
📝 Song Brief: A traditional Irish folk song that tells the story of a young man from County Kerry who is recruited into the British Army to fight in the Crimean War. The song reflects the emotional and physical turmoil faced by the recruit as he leaves his homeland to fight in a distant land.
🍀 Genre: Irish Folk Song, Anti-recruiting, Anti-war
📖 Glossary:- Brogues
Breeches or trousers; in some regions the word can also refer to sturdy shoes, but in this song it means work trousers. - (gallant young) blade
A dashing or spirited young man, often used in older songs to describe someone lively or confident. - cockade
A ribbon or feather worn on military headwear as a badge of rank, allegiance, or regiment. - Crimea
A peninsula in southeastern Ukraine between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov; the main theatre of the Crimean War (1853–1856). - Alma
A river in Crimea and the site of the Battle of the Alma (1854), one of the first major engagements of the Crimean War. - Inkerman
An eastern suburb of Sevastopol in South Crimea, known for the Battle of Inkerman (1854), where British and French forces fought Russian troops. - Redan
A field fortification with two angled faces projecting toward the enemy; the Great Redan at Sevastopol was the site of heavy fighting during the Crimean War. - whaled
To beat or thrash soundly; used in the song to describe the severity of the fighting. - shellacs
A thin varnish used to finish wood — here referring humorously to the wooden leg given to the wounded soldier. - Balaclava
A town in Crimea and the site of the Battle of Balaclava (1854), known for the “Charge of the Light Brigade” during the Crimean War. - “me clavens were nigh”
I could feel my hands still near me as I lay wounded - staunched me blood
To staunch blood means to stop bleeding. In the song, the phrase describes someone stopping the flow of blood from a wound.
👥 Covers: The Dubliners (featured), Brendan Moriarty, The Makem Brothers, John Wright, The Corrie Folk Trio (featured), Cormorant's Fancy, Richard Dyer-Bennet, The Celtic Camerata, Skip Henderson...
🎤 Featured Artists V1: The Corrie Folk Trio
💿 Album - The Corrie Folk Trio: Those Wild Corries!
Released: 1966
Country: UK
Format: 12" Vinyl
Label: Fontana
🎤 Featured Artists V2: The Dubliners
💿 Album - The Dubliners: Wild Rover: Best of the Dubliners
Released: August 12, 1996
Country: Ireland, UK
Format: 2 x CD
Label: Castle Pulse
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The Kerry Recruit lyrics by The Dubliners
Music Video
The Kerry Recruit - The Dubliners
One morning in March I was digging the land,
With me brogues on me feet and me spade in me hand
And says I to myself, such a pity to see,
Such a fine strappin' lad footin' turf round Tralee
With me toor in men ya, with me toor in men ya
With me toor in men, yoor in men, yoor in men ya
So I buttered me brogues, shook hands with me spade,
Then went off to the fair like a dashing young blade
When up comes a sergeant he asks me to list,
Then a Sergeant Agra, stick a bob in me fist
With me toor in men ya, with me toor in men ya
With me toor in men, yoor in men, yoor in men ya
Well the first thing they gave me it was a red coat,
With a wide strap of leather for to tie round me throat
They gave me a queer thing, I asked what was that,
And they told me it was a cockade for me hat
With me toor in men ya, with me toor in men ya
With me toor in men, yoor in men, yoor in men ya
Well the next thing they gave me they called it a gun,
With powder and shot and a place for me thumb
Well first she spat fire and then she spat smoke,
She gave a great leap and me shoulder near broke
With me toor in men ya, with me toor in men ya
With me toor in men, yoor in men, yoor in men ya
Well the first place they sent me was down by the quay,
On board of a warship bound for the Crimea
Three sticks in the middle all rolled round with sheets,
Faith, she walked on the water without any feet
With me toor in men ya, with me toor in men ya
With me toor in men, yoor in men, yoor in men ya
When at Balaclava we landed quite soon,
Both cold, wet and hungry we lay on the ground
Next morning for action the bugle did call,
And we had a hot breakfast of powder and ball
With me toor in men ya, with me toor in men ya
With me toor in men, yoor in men, yoor in men ya
Well we fought at the Alma, likewise Inkermann,
And the Russians they whaled us at the Redan
In scalin' the walls there meself lost an eye,
And a big Russian bullet ran off with me thigh
With me toor in men ya, with me toor in men ya
With me toor in men, yoor in men, yoor in men ya
Was there we lay bleeding stretched on the cold ground,
Both heads, legs and arms were all scattered around
I thought of me mam and me clavens were nigh,
Sure they'd bury me decent and raise a loud cry
With me toor in men ya, with me toor in men ya
With me toor in men, yoor in men, yoor in men ya
Well a doctor was called and he soon staunched me blood,
And he gave me a fine elegant leg made of wood
They gave me a medal and ten pence a day,
Contented with Sheila I live on half pay
With me toor in men ya, with me toor in men ya
With me toor in men, yoor in men, yoor in men ya
