The Irish Rovers – The Rake (Guitar)

  Am                         C        F
I am a young fellow from the County Tyrone,

       C           G            Em         G
In the town of Strabane sure I'm very well known,

    Am                       C          F
For down to the alehouse I'm frequently goin',

     C         G         Am
With Kitty and Ginny and Mary.

   Am                    C
My father rebuked me for being such a rake,

        Am          G
And for spending me money on whiskey and cakes,

        Am                         C             F
But the lassies are sweet and it's all for their sakes,

       C             G           Am
And it keeps me lighthearted and merry.

     Am           C            Em             G
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry,

       Am            G             Em           G
I will court all the lassies or at least I will try,

         Am                     C          F
And I'll never conform 'til the day that I die,

     C        G         Am
Agus fagaimid suid mar atá sé

     Am                      C           F
If I chance for to wander on down to the fair,

        C            G           Em           G
All the lassies all around me do flock on the square,

     Am                     C            F
I'll pull out me fiddle and play an auld air,

    C              G          Am
And soon we're all off on the spree.

        Am                      C
There's Peggy and Jane from the banks of Loch Nee,

        Am        G
There's Kitty and Molly down Dungannon Way,

             Am                            C             F
And there's another one from Cookstown who makes me head sway,

       C             G         Am
Such a fuss they all make over me.

     Am           C            Em             G
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry,

       Am            G             Em           G
I will court all the lassies or at least I will try,

         Am                     C          F
And I'll never conform 'til the day that I die,

     C        G         Am
Agus fagaimid suid mar atá sé

   Am                   C           F
To quarrel for riches I ne'er was inclined,

        C           G           Em           G
For the greatest of misers must leave them behind,

      Am                    C             F
So me money I spend with no thought in me mind,

       C           G            Am
But to kick up our heels and carouse.

        Am                   C
For the rich never spend any gold of their own,

          Am       G
Sure they hold it away like a dog and it's bone,

         Am                      C           F
But they end on their back among nettles and stones,

      C                G          Am
And I hear there're no pockets in shrouds.

     Am           C            Em             G
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry,

       Am            G             Em           G
I will court all the lassies or at least I will try,

         Am                     C          F
And I'll never conform 'til the day that I die,

     C        G         Am
Agus fagaimid suid mar atá sé

    Am                       C            F
Now some say I'm foolish and some say I'm wise,

    C          G             Em           G
For loving the women and the whiskey likewise,

        Am                    C           F
But the son of King David had ten hundred wives,

    C              G        Am
And his wisdom was highly regarded!

        Am                       C
So I'll call for the lassies and ask them to wed,

          Am        G
And we'll all be content in the one marriage bed,

          Am                                C          F
While the rich count their gold we'll count children instead,

          C             G              Am
And we'll raise them up true and stout-hearted.

     Am           C            Em             G
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry,

       Am            G             Em           G
I will court all the lassies or at least I will try,

         Am                     C          F
And I'll never conform 'til the day that I die,

     C        G         Am
Agus fagaimid suid mar atá sé

     C        G         Am
Agus fagaimid suid mar atá sé