The Waxies Dargle

Trad

Says my oul wan to your oul wan
Will you come to the Waxies Dargle
Says your oul wan to my oul wan
Sure I haven’t got a farthin’
I went down to Monto Town
To see young Kill McArdle
But he wouldn’t give me a half a crown
To go to the Waxies Dargle

What will you have?
Will you have a pint?
I’ll have a pint with you sir
And if one of you don’t order soon
We’ll be thrown out of the boozer

Says my aul one to your aul one
Will you come to the Galway Races
Says your aul one to my aul one
With the price of my aul lad’s braces
I went down to Capel Street
To the Jew man money lenders
But they wouldn’t give me a couple of bob
On me oul lad’s red suspenders

What will you have?
Will you have a pint?
I’ll have a pint with you sir
And if one of you don’t order soon
We’ll be thrown out of the boozer

Says my aul one to your aul one
We have no beef nor mutton
But if we go down to Monto Town
We might get a drink for nothin’
Here’s a nice piece of advice
I got from an aul fishmonger
When food is scarce and you see the hearse
You know you’ve died of hunger

What will you have?
Will you have a pint?
I’ll have a pint with you sir
And if one of you don’t order soon
We’ll be thrown out of the boozer

The Waxies’ Dargle is a traditional Irish folk song about two Dublin “aul’ wans” (ladies) discussing how to find money to go on an excursion. It is named after an annual outing to Ringsend, near Dublin city, by Dublin cobblers (waxies). It originated as a 19th-century children’s song and is now a popular pub song in Ireland.

In the 19th century, during the Summer, the gentry of Dublin would travel out to Bray and Enniskerry with their entourages and have picnics on the banks of the River Dargle. The Dargle was a popular holiday resort, and the name in Dublin slang became synonymous with “holiday resort”.

The shoe-makers and repairers in Dublin were known as waxies, because they used wax to waterproof and preserve the thread they used in stitching the shoes.