I'm an honest Irish Labourer
and I came from the County Clare
Once I had a farm there
with nothin' much to spare
But I had to sell me donkey
and me famous billy goat
And with the money I received,
to Glasgow took the boat
In the mornin', when I landed there,
before me hair got dry
I was started on the Mickey Dam
in a place they call Mull Guy
And the ganger that I started with,
they called him John the Mouse
And the very first day that I was there,
at me he'd start to grouse
Well, I quickly surprised him
and I said, "You little rat,
I'll tie a string around your neck
and throw you to the cat!"
For I'm as strong as any lion,
I was reared on eggs and ham
I'm a terror to all fightin' men
round the Mickey Dam
Well, this roused the mouse's temper
and at me he made to jump.
He swore he'd paralyze me
with the handle of a pump
But I quickly surprised him and
I grabbed him by the throat
And I shook that little monkey
'til the tail fell off his coat
For I'm as strong as any lion,
I was reared on eggs and ham
I'm a terror to all fightin' men
round the Mickey Dam
Well, the big hotels we're stopping in,
they call them navvies huts
And the fleas and bugs that are in the bed
are as big as coconuts
Of a Saturday night, when I get home,
I stands behind the door
And as they come out, one by one,
I bash them to the floor
For I'm as strong as any lion,
I was reared on eggs and ham
I'm a terror to all fightin' men
round the Mickey Dam
