The Dubliners – Auld Orange Flute (Guitar)

       C                       G          C
In the County Tyrone, near the town of Dungannon,

               Am         G
Where many the ructions meself had a hand in.

    C                   F         C
Bob Williamson lived, a weaver by trade,

              G                          C
And all of us thought him a stout Orange blade,

                    Em       F
On the Twelfth of July as it yearly did come,

    C                            G7
Bob played with his flute to the sound of a drum.

        C                       F        C
You may talk of your harp, your piano or lute,

                              G          C
But none can compare with the Old Orange Flute.

C                     G           C
Bob, the deceiver, he took us all in;

             Am           G
He married a Papist named Bridget McGinn.

       C                     F            C
Turned Papist himself and forsook the old cause

                 G                     C
That gave us our freedom, religion and laws.

                 Em            F
Now, boys of the townland made some noise upon it,

    C                     G7
And Bob had to fly to the province of Connaught.

   C                          F          C
He fled with his wife and his fixings to boot,

                              G          C
And along with the latter his Old Orange Flute.

       C                   G              C
At the chapel on Sunday to atone for past deeds,

                   Am       G
He'd say Pater and Aves and counted his brown beads.

     C                       F            C
'Til after some time, at the priest's own desire

                               G           C
He went with that old flute to play in the choir.

                      Em           F
He went with that old flute for to play for the Mass,

        C                       G7
But the instrument shivered and sighed, oh, alas,

    C                              F            C
And try though he would, though it made a great noise,

                               G          C
The flute would play only "The Protestant Boys."

    C                        G        C
Bob jumped and he stared and got in a flutter

              Am               G
And threw the old flute in the blessed holy water.

   C                                   F          C
He thought that this charm would bring some other Sound;

                                   G            C
When he tried it again, it played "Croppies Lie Down."

                      Em          F
Now, for all he could whistle and finger and blow,

   C                    G7
To play Papish music he found it no go.

          C                              F            C
"Kick the Pope" and "The Boyne Water" it freely would Sound,

                            G           C
But one Papish squeak in it couldn't be found.

       C                           G             C
At the council of priests that was held the next day

                Am         G
They decided to banish the old flute away.

     C                     F           C
They couldn't knock heresy out of it's head,

                     G                       C
So they bought Bob a new one to play in it's stead.

                       Em              F
Now, the old flute was doomed, and its fate was pathetic

      C                          G7
'Twas fastened and burned at the stake as a heretic.

       C                             F               C
As the flames soared around it, they heard a strange Noise;

                                         G          C
'Twas the old flute still whistling "The Protestant Boys."

       F         C
"Toora lu, toora lay,

                                  G      C
Oh, it's six miles from Bangor to Donnahadee."