Songs of days gone by
by Alice McKiel

Here are a few songs Grandma used to sing while she knitted me a scarf or mittens
           

MCNAMARA'S BAND Oh, me name is McNamara- I'm the leader of a band. Although we're few in numbers, we're the finest in the land. We play at wakes and weddings and every fancy ball, And when we play at funerals, we play the march from Saul. Right now, we are rehearsing for a very swell affair- The annual celebration, all the gentry will be there. When Gen. Grant of Ireland came, he took me by the hand, Says he, " I never saw the likes of McNamara's Band. Oh, the drums go bang and the cymbals clang and the horns they blaze away McCarthy pumps the old bazoon, while the pipes do play .Hennessey Tennessey tooddles the flute and the music is something grand A credit to old Ireland is McNamara's Band. Oh, I wear a bunch of shamrocks and a uniform of green And I'm the funniest looking Swede that you have ever seen. There's O'Briens, Ryans, Sheehans and Meehans All come from Ireland but ,by yimminy, I'm the only Swede in McNamara's band