Music & lyrics: Lorenzo Testa
Tunes: Charlie Hunter’s jig (traditional)
Despite the funny refrain, this song means a lot to me, as I wrote it when I was about to take an important decision in my life. I wrote it in a old-fashioned way, but it’s very up-to-date and autobiographical. We included “Charlie Hunter’s jig”, a fine tune that Luca learned many years ago from the great album “Music at Matt Molloy’s”.
And we rove and we rove and we rove again
tired in the legs but never in the head
we are the rambling bhoys of pleasure
drinking without measure
and we take delight in good company
I’ve been plumber, brickie, coder
Carpenter, house mover
Some wages I collected
But those days are now over
When I got a penny more
of what’s needed to survive
I considered myself rich,
sure that t’was enough
Now I leave me safe ground
and I start to get around
searching for some happiness
and each day share a round
It’s surely better to regret
what’s been done in the past
that something never done
for our lack of guts
and we rove and we rove and we rove again
tired in the legs but never in the head
we are the rambling bhoys of pleasure
drinking without measure
and we take delight in good company
Sometimes I wish I could be back
in lovely Dublin town
Although the times are changed
And me friends are gone so far
We spent our afternoons there
just drinking in the pub
and talking ’bout a poem
or a song of times gone by
Sometimes the days are hard
sometimes me throat is dry
But I take refuge in a pub
and I’m happy as a child
I enjoy the good old pleasures
the craic, the drink, the leisure
And I forget the troubles
with a pint of plain in hand