The Galway Races Lyrics And Chords
The Galway Races Lyrics And Easy Guitar Chords Recorded by The Dubliners with Luke Kelly on vocals., it's a Traditional Irish folk song. Here is another song that has lots of different versions, This version is the one used by The Pogues. Third line is the word ''wattles'' which are basically stick / twigs used to make fences at the races. I have included a couple of sets of chords including the one's as used by The Pogues. Guitar chords in Chordpro format.
About The Song.
this one is a roaring, cheerful celebration of Galway Races, delivered with the enthusiasm of a man three pints deep and thrilled to be among the crowds. It’s a snapshot of Irish life when everyone — from every corner of the island — abandons dignity and responsibility for a day of sheer horsing around (literally).
The singer sets the scene:
He’s heading to Galway on August 17th for “recreation” — which is a polite Irish term meaning:
“I’m going to drink, flirt, gamble, and commit mild acts of chaos.”
He enters the train station and is instantly bedazzled by the mass of humanity heading to the races --
excitement buzzing like a hive of thirsty bees.
And then, the crowd!
There are passengers from Limerick,
from Nenagh,
from Connemara,
from Clare — especially the unmarried maidens
(hint hint, lads!)
The Cork people get a special compliment --
“loyal, true, and faithful” --
and credited with bringing back Fenian prisoners --
which is Irish for:
“They might talk funny, but they’re fierce and patriotic.”
Then, the entertainment:
thinking:
“Ah she’ll make a fine wife someday — look how she can take a beating.”
Irish parenting at its finest.
Then there’s the horses and jockeys:
The jockeys wear national colors — pink, blue, orange, green --
looking like fast-moving packets of Skittles.
When the race starts, the horses practically levitate --
their hooves barely touching the ground.
Speed?
More like they’re propelled by divine propulsion --
or maybe the outriders slipped them something stronger than oats.
And finally — the best bit:
Half a million people of every religion --
Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Presbyterian --
and no animosity — only friendship and craic.
That’s Ireland at its brightest:
We might argue over theology in a quiet room,
but at a racecourse --
we’ll share pints, slap backs, and lose money together in harmony.
In short, this song captures:
or what persuasion you are --
everyone becomes Irish at the Galway Races.
this one is a roaring, cheerful celebration of Galway Races, delivered with the enthusiasm of a man three pints deep and thrilled to be among the crowds. It’s a snapshot of Irish life when everyone — from every corner of the island — abandons dignity and responsibility for a day of sheer horsing around (literally).
The singer sets the scene:
He’s heading to Galway on August 17th for “recreation” — which is a polite Irish term meaning:
“I’m going to drink, flirt, gamble, and commit mild acts of chaos.”
He enters the train station and is instantly bedazzled by the mass of humanity heading to the races --
excitement buzzing like a hive of thirsty bees.
And then, the crowd!
There are passengers from Limerick,
from Nenagh,
from Connemara,
from Clare — especially the unmarried maidens
(hint hint, lads!)
The Cork people get a special compliment --
“loyal, true, and faithful” --
and credited with bringing back Fenian prisoners --
which is Irish for:
“They might talk funny, but they’re fierce and patriotic.”
Then, the entertainment:
- pipers puffing away
- fiddlers sawing strings
- wheel-of-fortune gambling
- and people pelting poor Maggie with wattles
(little sticks — not chickens, shamefully)
thinking:
“Ah she’ll make a fine wife someday — look how she can take a beating.”
Irish parenting at its finest.
Then there’s the horses and jockeys:
The jockeys wear national colors — pink, blue, orange, green --
looking like fast-moving packets of Skittles.
When the race starts, the horses practically levitate --
their hooves barely touching the ground.
Speed?
More like they’re propelled by divine propulsion --
or maybe the outriders slipped them something stronger than oats.
And finally — the best bit:
Half a million people of every religion --
Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Presbyterian --
and no animosity — only friendship and craic.
That’s Ireland at its brightest:
We might argue over theology in a quiet room,
but at a racecourse --
we’ll share pints, slap backs, and lose money together in harmony.
In short, this song captures:
- the thrill of Galway
- the charm of the people
- the joy of the gathering
- and the magic of a truly Irish event
or what persuasion you are --
everyone becomes Irish at the Galway Races.
The Galway Races Song Words And Easy To Play Chords In C Major Key
[C]As I went down to Galway Town
To seek for recreation
On the[Am] seventeenth of August
Me[G] mind being eleva[C]ted
There were passengers assem[G]bled
With their[Am] tickets at the[C] station
And me eyes began toEm] dazzle
And they[Am] off to see the races
With me[C] wack fol the[G] do fol
The[Am] diddle idle day
There were passengers from Limerick
And passengers from Nenagh
The boys of Connemara
And the Clare unmarried maiden
There were people from Cork City
Who were loyal, true and faithful
Who brought home the Fenian prisoners
From dying in foreign nations
And it's there you'll see the pipers
And the fiddlers competing
And the sporting wheel of fortune
And the four and twenty quarters
And there's others without scruple
Pelting wattles at poor Maggie
And her father well contented
And he gazing at his daughter
And it's there you'll see the jockeys
And they mounted on so stably
The pink, the blue, the orange, and the green
The colors of our nation
The time it came for starting
All the horses seemed impatient
Their feet they hardly touched the ground
The speed was so amazing!
There was half a million people there
Of all denominations
The Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew, the Presbyterian
Yet there was no animosity
No matter what persuasion
But failte hospitality
Inducing fresh acquaintance.
Guitar chords for all verses in C Major.The Galway Races(Traditional Irish Folk Song) Pogues version
[Verse 1]
[C]As I went down to Galway Town
To seek for recreation,
On the [Am]seventeenth of August,
Me [G]mind being eleva[C]ted.
There were passengers assem[G]bled,
With their [Am]tickets at the [C]station,
And me eyes began to [Em]dazzle,
As they [Am]off to see the [C]races.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
[Verse 2]
There were [C]passengers from Limerick,
And [F]passengers from [C]Nenagh,
The [Am]boys of Connemara,
And the [G]Clare unmarried [C]maidens.
There were people from Cork [G]City,
Who were [Am]loyal, true, and [C]faithful,
Who brought home the Fenian [Em]prisoners,
From [Am]dying in foreign [C]nations.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
[Verse 3]
And it’s [C]there you’ll see the pipers,
And the [F]fiddlers all com[C]peting,
And the [Am]sporting wheel of fortune,
And the [G]four-and-twenty [C]quarters.
And there’s others without [G]scruple,
Pelting [Am]wattles at poor [C]Maggie,
And her father well con[Em]tented,
As he [Am]gazed upon his [C]daughter.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
[Verse 4]
And it’s [C]there you’ll see the jockeys,
And they [F]mounted oh so [C]stately,
The [Am]pink, the blue, the orange,
And the [G]green, the colors [C]gaily.
The time it came for [G]starting,
All the [Am]horses seemed im[C]patient,
Their feet they hardly [Em]touched the ground,
The [Am]speed was so a[C]mazing.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
[Verse 5]
There was [C]half a million people there,
Of [F]every denomina[C]tion,
The [Am]Catholic, the Protestant,
The [G]Jew, the Presbyte[C]rian.
Yet there was no ani[G]mosity,
No [Am]matter what per[C]suasion,
But fáilte and hos[Em]pitality,
In[Am]ducing fresh acquain[C]tance.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
Irish songs from G-J
[C]As I went down to Galway Town
To seek for recreation
On the[Am] seventeenth of August
Me[G] mind being eleva[C]ted
There were passengers assem[G]bled
With their[Am] tickets at the[C] station
And me eyes began toEm] dazzle
And they[Am] off to see the races
With me[C] wack fol the[G] do fol
The[Am] diddle idle day
There were passengers from Limerick
And passengers from Nenagh
The boys of Connemara
And the Clare unmarried maiden
There were people from Cork City
Who were loyal, true and faithful
Who brought home the Fenian prisoners
From dying in foreign nations
And it's there you'll see the pipers
And the fiddlers competing
And the sporting wheel of fortune
And the four and twenty quarters
And there's others without scruple
Pelting wattles at poor Maggie
And her father well contented
And he gazing at his daughter
And it's there you'll see the jockeys
And they mounted on so stably
The pink, the blue, the orange, and the green
The colors of our nation
The time it came for starting
All the horses seemed impatient
Their feet they hardly touched the ground
The speed was so amazing!
There was half a million people there
Of all denominations
The Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew, the Presbyterian
Yet there was no animosity
No matter what persuasion
But failte hospitality
Inducing fresh acquaintance.
Guitar chords for all verses in C Major.The Galway Races(Traditional Irish Folk Song) Pogues version
[Verse 1]
[C]As I went down to Galway Town
To seek for recreation,
On the [Am]seventeenth of August,
Me [G]mind being eleva[C]ted.
There were passengers assem[G]bled,
With their [Am]tickets at the [C]station,
And me eyes began to [Em]dazzle,
As they [Am]off to see the [C]races.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
[Verse 2]
There were [C]passengers from Limerick,
And [F]passengers from [C]Nenagh,
The [Am]boys of Connemara,
And the [G]Clare unmarried [C]maidens.
There were people from Cork [G]City,
Who were [Am]loyal, true, and [C]faithful,
Who brought home the Fenian [Em]prisoners,
From [Am]dying in foreign [C]nations.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
[Verse 3]
And it’s [C]there you’ll see the pipers,
And the [F]fiddlers all com[C]peting,
And the [Am]sporting wheel of fortune,
And the [G]four-and-twenty [C]quarters.
And there’s others without [G]scruple,
Pelting [Am]wattles at poor [C]Maggie,
And her father well con[Em]tented,
As he [Am]gazed upon his [C]daughter.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
[Verse 4]
And it’s [C]there you’ll see the jockeys,
And they [F]mounted oh so [C]stately,
The [Am]pink, the blue, the orange,
And the [G]green, the colors [C]gaily.
The time it came for [G]starting,
All the [Am]horses seemed im[C]patient,
Their feet they hardly [Em]touched the ground,
The [Am]speed was so a[C]mazing.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
[Verse 5]
There was [C]half a million people there,
Of [F]every denomina[C]tion,
The [Am]Catholic, the Protestant,
The [G]Jew, the Presbyte[C]rian.
Yet there was no ani[G]mosity,
No [Am]matter what per[C]suasion,
But fáilte and hos[Em]pitality,
In[Am]ducing fresh acquain[C]tance.
[Refrain]
With me [C]whack-fol the [G]do-fol,
The [Am]diddle-idle [C]day.
Irish songs from G-J
The Galway Races(Traditional Irish Folk Song guitar chords – Key of G)
[Verse 1]
[G]As I went down to Galway Town
To seek for recreation,
On the [Em]seventeenth of August,
Me [D]mind being eleva[G]ted.
There were passengers assem[D]bled,
With their [Em]tickets at the [G]station,
And me eyes began to [Bm]dazzle,
As they [Em]off to see the [G]races.
[Refrain]
With me [G]whack-fol the [D]do-fol,
The [Em]diddle-idle [G]day.
[Verse 2]
There were [G]passengers from Limerick,
And [C]passengers from [G]Nenagh,
The [Em]boys of Connemara,
And the [D]Clare unmarried [G]maidens.
There were people from Cork [D]City,
Who were [Em]loyal, true, and [G]faithful,
Who brought home the Fenian [Bm]prisoners,
From [Em]dying in foreign [G]nations.
[Refrain]
With me [G]whack-fol the [D]do-fol,
The [Em]diddle-idle [G]day.
[Verse 3]
And it’s [G]there you’ll see the pipers,
And the [C]fiddlers all com[G]peting,
And the [Em]sporting wheel of fortune,
And the [D]four-and-twenty [G]quarters.
And there’s others without [D]scruple,
Pelting [Em]wattles at poor [G]Maggie,
And her father well con[Bm]tented,
As he [Em]gazed upon his [G]daughter.
[Refrain]
With me [G]whack-fol the [D]do-fol,
The [Em]diddle-idle [G]day.
[Verse 4]
And it’s [G]there you’ll see the jockeys,
And they [C]mounted oh so [G]stately,
The [Em]pink, the blue, the orange,
And the [D]green, the colors [G]gaily.
The time it came for [D]starting,
All the [Em]horses seemed im[G]patient,
Their feet they hardly [Bm]touched the ground,
The [Em]speed was so a[G]mazing.
[Refrain]
With me [G]whack-fol the [D]do-fol,
The [Em]diddle-idle [G]day.
[Verse 5]
There was [G]half a million people there,
Of [C]every denomina[G]tion,
The [Em]Catholic, the Protestant,
The [D]Jew, the Presbyte[G]rian.
Yet there was no ani[D]mosity,
No [Em]matter what per[G]suasion,
But fáilte and hos[Bm]pitality,
In[Em]ducing fresh acquain[G]tance.
[Refrain]
With me [G]whack-fol the [D]do-fol,
The [Em]diddle-idle [G]day.
The Galway Races Tin Whistle Sheet Music
Luke Kelly The Galway Races Singer
Street Market In Galway Ireland in 1879
