You've heard of General Wellington
Who won at Waterloo,
But there's a good old Irishman
I'll introduce to you
He comes from dear old Dublin
He's a man we all applaud
For he always finds a corkscrew
Far more hardy than a sword.
He's good old General Guinness
He's a soldier strong and stout
Found on every battlefront
He can't be done without
His noble name has worldwide fame
Preserved through hearty cheers
Hurrah for General Guinness
And the Dublin Boozileers!
This hale and hearty warrior
Is worshipped in the ranks,
For he does his task inside a cask
As well as in the tanks.
He's borne the brunt on every front,
North, South, East and West,
And he wears about ten thousand canteen
Medals on his chest.
He's good old General Guinness.
He's won the world's applause.
It was he who kept our spirits up
In the midst of all the wars.
Who was the first to flirt with
Mademoiselle from Armentiers?
Why good old General Guinness
Of the Dublin Boozileers.
All over bonny Scotland, too,
The General is seen.
They've given him the freedom
Of the town of Aberdeen.
From Inverness to Galloshiles,
They keep him warm at night
And they love to gather round him,
Auuuch! On every moonlit night.
He's good old General Guinness
He's as good as Scottish broth.
He's the one who turned the Firth of Forth
Into the Firth of Froth
All Scotsmen dance the highland fling
And shout when he appears
Hurrah for General Guinness
And the Dublin Boozileers!
Talk about serendipity: I literally just learned this, having decided that I needed to add to my repertoire of songs about booze (and boozing). But I've known of the song for many years, having heard it on the aforementioned Boys of the Lough album. For what it's worth, Cathal McConnell precedes the song with a recitation:
Twas the Pig Fair last September
A day I well remember
I was walking up and down in drunken pride
When my knees began to flutter
And I sank down in the gutter
And a pig came up and lay down by my side
As I lay there in the gutter
Thinking thoughts I could not utter
I thought I heard a passing lady say:
"You can tell the man who boozes
By the company that he chooses"
And with that the pig got up and walked away
General Guinness
General Guinness
General Guinness
You've heard of General Wellington
Who won at Waterloo,
But there's a good old Irishman
I'll introduce to you
He comes from dear old Dublin
He's a man we all applaud
For he always finds a corkscrew
Far more hardy than a sword.
He's good old General Guinness
He's a soldier strong and stout
Found on every battlefront
He can't be done without
His noble name has worldwide fame
Preserved through hearty cheers
Hurrah for General Guinness
And the Dublin Boozileers!
This hale and hearty warrior
Is worshipped in the ranks,
For he does his task inside a cask
As well as in the tanks.
He's borne the brunt on every front,
North, South, East and West,
And he wears about ten thousand canteen
Medals on his chest.
He's good old General Guinness.
He's won the world's applause.
It was he who kept our spirits up
In the midst of all the wars.
Who was the first to flirt with
Mademoiselle from Armentiers?
Why good old General Guinness
Of the Dublin Boozileers.
All over bonny Scotland, too,
The General is seen.
They've given him the freedom
Of the town of Aberdeen.
From Inverness to Galloshiles,
They keep him warm at night
And they love to gather round him,
Auuuch! On every moonlit night.
He's good old General Guinness
He's as good as Scottish broth.
He's the one who turned the Firth of Forth
Into the Firth of Froth
All Scotsmen dance the highland fling
And shout when he appears
Hurrah for General Guinness
And the Dublin Boozileers!
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by dafydd
Re: General Guinness
Very nice! What tune is it sung to? Or is it a recitation?
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: General Guinness
Bravo, Dafydd! We should all pour ye another one in your honor.
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: General Guinness
The Boys Of The Lough
Live At Passim
http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/911
Boys Of The Lough
March 25th 2004 by sara g
'General Guinness' sample (29 sec):
http://www.pandora.com/music/song/boys+of+lough/general+guiness+song
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by Random_notes
Re: General Guinness
I got this one from Spirit of the West. They do part of it to the tune of Johnny Be Goode
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by camwebby
Re: General Guinness
It has a tune,I learned this back in the dark ages from The Boys Of The Lough's 'Live At Passim' 1974.
http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/6531/botl2lc1.jpg
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by dafydd
Re: General Guinness
Sung to the air of 'Slattery' Mounted Fut' A song made popular by Val Doonican
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by Free Reed
Re: General Guinness
Should read 'Slattery's Mounted Fut' (Foot)
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by Free Reed
Re: General Guinness
Whoops, like like my Boys of the Lough collection is sadly incomplete, thanks folks.
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: General Guinness
I found this on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=525GzFlJrI8&feature=PlayList&p=92332FF5FAB61487&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=19
It's not the same tune that the Boys Of The lough used.
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by dafydd
Re: General Guinness
Val Doonican in his heyday
tp://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=1lPSBax2QsE&feature=related
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by dafydd
Re: General Guinness
Talk about serendipity: I literally just learned this, having decided that I needed to add to my repertoire of songs about booze (and boozing). But I've known of the song for many years, having heard it on the aforementioned Boys of the Lough album. For what it's worth, Cathal McConnell precedes the song with a recitation:
Twas the Pig Fair last September
A day I well remember
I was walking up and down in drunken pride
When my knees began to flutter
And I sank down in the gutter
And a pig came up and lay down by my side
As I lay there in the gutter
Thinking thoughts I could not utter
I thought I heard a passing lady say:
"You can tell the man who boozes
By the company that he chooses"
And with that the pig got up and walked away
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by sts
Re: General Guinness
Thank you for posting the words. This is one of my favorite songs by the Boys of the Lough (although Guiness isn't my favorite beer).
# Posted on May 14th 2009 by fauxcelt
Re: General Guinness
it's mine
# Posted on May 18th 2009 by lisaniska