From the recording Far Hills
We learned this tune off of Joe Holmes And Len Graham’s 1979 album After Dawning - Nathan says it’s like a family friend who shows up once a year and imparts mildly chaotic wisdom. It is paired with the reel Musical Priest, as learned from the playing of Andy McGann.
Nathan Bishop: fiddle
Connor Brogan: vocals, tenor banjo
Rob Helsel: vocals, Spanish guitar
Lyrics
Here I am amongst ye
And I’m here because I’m here
And I’m only twelve months older than I was this time last year
Oh never throw a brick at a drowning man
When you’re near to a grocer’s store
Just throw him a cake of sunshine soap for to wash himself ashore
Oh the more one has, the more one wants
The same I don’t think true
For I never met a man with one black eye who was wishin that he had two
Oh it’s early to bed and early to rise,
The same I don’t think true
For how in the hell can a man go to bed when he has none to go to?