They talk about Paris
And the Champs Eleysee
And fancy wine bars
Where accordions do play
But you can’t get a pint
Or put on a bet
And a Vienna roll
Is called a baugette
And Rome
with its fountains
And Appian Way
Where auld gladiators
Each other did slay
And all the cathedrals
In the Vatican
state
With all their high ceilings
Fantastic to paint
You can’t whack the place
Where the ferries come in
Where porter is beer
And renaguing’s a sin
Or down by Poolbeg
For catching the fish
And watching the tankers
Go out by the Kish
You can’t beat the stories
You hear on the quays
About great adventures
Out on the high seas
Or tales of canals
Like the Royal and Grand
And barges that travel
To harbours inland
You can’t whack the place
Where the ferries come in
Where porter is beer
And renaguing’s a sin
Or down by Poolbeg
For catching the fish
And watching the tankers
Go out by the Kish
Let’s drink to a city
Bombs couldn’t kill
With barges and liners
To empty and fill
Here’s to the cattle boats
The crates and the sacks
Lanyards and gang planks
And breaking your back
You can’t whack the place
Where the ferries come in
Where porter is beer
And renaguing’s a sin
Or down by Poolbeg
For catching the fish
And watching the tankers
Go out by the Kish