Near to Banbridge Town, in the County DownOne morning
in July,Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen,
And she smiled as she passed me by;Oh,
she looked so neat from her two white feetTo the sheen
of her nut-brown hair,Sure the coaxing elf,
I'd to shake myselfTo make sure I was standing there
CHORUS: Oh, from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I've seen like the brown colleenThat I met in the County Down.
As she onward sped I shook my headAnd I gazed with
a feeling quare,And I said,
says I, to a passer-by,"Who's the maid with the nut-brown
hair?"Oh, he smiled at me,
and with pride says he,"That's the gem of Ireland's
crown,She's young Rosie McCann from the banks of the
Bann,She's the Star of the County Down."
I've travelled a bit, but never was hitSince my roving
career began;But fair and square I surrendered thereTo
the charms of young Rose McCann.
I'd a heart to let and no tenant yetDid I meet with
in shawl or gown,But in she went and I asked no rentFrom
the Star of the County Down.

At the crossroads fair I'll be surely thereAnd I'll
dress in my Sunday clothesAnd I'll try sheep's eyes,
and deludhering liesOn the heart of the nut-brown Rose.No
pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yokeThough with rust
my plow turns brown,Till a smiling bride by my own
firesideSits the Star of the County Down.