Red Haired Mary
Traditional Irish - One of my favorites and a lot of fun to ham up!  Do the verses slowly with a bit of the brogue uf you can, and really tell the story.  Speed up the tempo on the last line of each verse to lead into the chorus.  I usually do the "oh" in a bit of a squeal....  The first chorus isn't done till after the second verse, so the story can be set up.  The last chorus is different, and I usually will repeat it at the end...

     C                                F
As I was going to the Faire of Dingle,
    C                        G
One fine morning last July,
          C                            F
And walking down the road before me,
       C                          G             C
A red-haired girl I chanced to spy.

              C                          F
Come ride with me, my red-haired maiden,
         C                      G
My donkey, he can carry two.
          C                            F
She looked at me, her eyes a-twinklin'
   C                          G      C
And her cheeks a rosy hue.

Chorus :
           C                                F
Oh! Keep your hands off Red Haired Mary,
  C                     G
Her and I will soon be wed.
           C                          F
We'll see a priest this very morning,
       C                         G             C
Tonight we'll lie in a marriage bed.

           C                                   F
Now when we reached the town of Dingle,
    C                        G
I took her hand to say goodbye.
                 C                           F
When a tinker, he stepped up beside me,           tinker = irish gypsy
          C                  G         C
And belted me in my left eye.      Chorus...

     C                                F
Well I was feelin kinda peevish,
    C                        G
My poor old eye felt sad and sore,
          C                            F
When I tapped him gently with my hobnails
       C                          G             C
And he flew back to Murphy's door.     Chorus...

               C                        F
Well he galloped off to find his brothers,
         C                  G
The tallest men I e'er did meet,
                  C                            F
When he tapped me gently with his knuckles,
       C                    G             C
And I was minus two front teeth.      Chorus...

              C                            F
Now a pealer, he came round the corner,               pealer = policeman, constable
    C                                              G
Said, "Young man, you done broke the law."
                  C                              F
When my donkey kicked him in the kneecaps
         C                          G             C
And he fell down and broke his jaw.     Chorus...

                C                                F
Well the red haired girl, she kept a'smiling,
    C                                        G
"Young man, I'll come with you," she said.
               C                             F
We'll forget the priest this very morning,
       C                       G             C
Tonight we'll lie in Murphy's shed.
 
Final Chorus:
        C                                  F
Oh! Keep your hands off Red Haired Mary,
    C                   G
Her and I will soon be wed.
               C                            F
We'll forget the priest this very morning,
       C                       G               C
Tonight we'll lie in Murphy's shed.
 

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