Dublin City Ramblers, Dublin In The Rare Old Times (1980)
^{Key: :[B] (w: Pete St. John)}

INTRO: [B] ^[E] ^[B] [F#] [B]

VERSE 1:
[B] Raised on songs and [E] stor-[B]-ies, [B] Heroes of re-[G#m]-nown
The [B] passing tales and [E] glor-[B]-ies, that [F#] once was Dublin [F#] Town
The [B] hallowed halls and [E] hous-[B]-es, the [B] haunting childrens [G#m] rhymes
That [B] once was Dublin [E] City [B], in the [F#] rare ould [B] times

CHORUS:
[*R1] [B] Ring a ring a [E] rose-[B]-y, [B] as the light de-[G#m]-clines
I re-[B]-member Dublin [E] City [B] in the [F#] rare ould [B] times

VERSE 2:
My [B] name it is Sean [E] Demp-[B]-sey, as [B] Dublin as can [G#m] be
Born [B] hard and late in [E] Pimli-[B]-co, in a [F#] house that ceased to [F#] be
By [B] trade I was a [E] coop-[B]-er, lost [B] out to redundan-[G#m]-cy
Like my [B] house that fell to [E] prog-[B]-ress, my [F#] trade's a memor-[B]-y

VERSE 3:
And I [B] courted Peggy [E] Dig-[B]-nam, as [B] pretty as you [G#m] please
A [B] rogue and child of [E] Mary [B], from the [F#] rebel Liber-[F#]-ties
[B] I lost her to a [E] student [B] chap, with [B] skin as black as [G#m] coal
When he [B] took her off to [E] Birming-[B]-ham, she [F#] took away my [B] soul

REPEAT CHORUS:

VERSE 4:
For the [B] years have made me [E] bit-[B]-ter, the [B] gargles dimmed me [G#m] brain
Cause [B] Dublin keeps on [E] chang-[B]-ing, and [F#] nothing seems the [F#] same
The [B] Pillar and the [E] Met have [B] gone, the [B] Royal long since pulled [G#m] down
As the [B] grey unyielding [E] concrete [B] makes a [F#] city of my [B] town

REPEAT CHORUS:

VERSE 5:
Fare thee [B] well sweet Anna [E] Liff-[B]-ey, I [B] can no longer [G#m] stay
And [B] watch the new glass [E] cages [B], that spring [F#] up along the [F#] quay
My [B] mind's too full of [E] memor-[B]-ies, too [B] old to hear new [G#m] chimes
I'm a [B] part of what was [E] Dublin [B] in the [F#] rare ould [B] times

REPEAT CHORUS: [x2]