Mourne Maggie

Trad

There was a farmer in the west
With my yorams yorams yadio
Who had a wife who wasn’t the best
And they called her Mourne Maggio

Mourne, Mourne Maggio
One of the inion yarnas

She had six cows to milk and tie
With my yorams yorams yadio
She lay in the bed until they all went dry
And they called her Mourne Maggio

Mourne, Mourne Maggio
One of the inion yarnas

She went to the market, some eggs to sell
With my yorams yorams yadio
She sucked the yolks, she sold the shells
And they called her Mourne Maggio

Mourne, Mourne Maggio
One of the inion yarnas

She joined her hands behind her neck
With my yorams yorams yadio
And she said her prayers on the broad of her back
And they called her Mourne Maggio

Mourne, Mourne Maggio
One of the inion yarnas

She churned the butter in the old man’s boot
With my yorams yorams yadio
And she made the butter with the tongs and the crook
And they called her Mourne Maggio

Mourne, Mourne Maggio
One of the inion yarnas

So if you come to the County Down
With my yorams yorams yadio
If you see a hellion in Hilltown
You’ll know she’s Mourne Maggio

Mourne, Mourne Maggio
One of the inion yarnas

As sung by the Irish folk group Crubeen. They write: “A very old traditional song about a colourful woman who lived in the foothills of the Mournes. We use our own arrangement here and add in the ‘Pinch of Snuff’ (a reel).”