"Star of the County Down" is an Irish ballad set near Banbridge in County Down, in Northern Ireland. The words are by Cathal MacGarvey (1866–1927) from Ramelton, County Donegal. The tune is traditional, and may be known as "Dives and Lazarus" or (as a hymn tune) "Kingsfold".
The melody was also used in an Irish folk song called "My Love Nell". The lyrics of "My Love Nell" tell the story of a young man who courts a girl but loses her when she emigrates to America. The only real similarity with "Star of the County Down" is that Nell too comes from County Down. This may have inspired MacGarvey to place the heroine of his new song in Down as well. MacGarvey was from Donegal.
"The Star of the County Down" uses a tight rhyme scheme. Each stanza is a double quatrain, and the first and third lines of each quatrain have an internal rhyme on the second and fourth feet: [aa]b[cc]b. The refrain is a single quatrain with the same rhyming pattern.
The song is sung from the point of view of a young man who chances to meet a charming lady by the name of Rose (or Rosie) McCann, referred to as the "star of the County Down". From a brief encounter the writer's infatuation grows until, by the end of the ballad, he imagines himself marrying the girl.
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
One morning last July
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair
Such a winsome elf, I'm ashamed of myself
For the see of her standing there
From Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down
And I looked with a feelin' rare
And I says, says I, to a passer-by
"Who's the maid with the nut brown hair?"
Well he looked at me and he said to me
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann
She's the star of the County Down"
From Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down
And a smile like the rose in June
And she sang so sweet, what a lovely treat
As she lilted an Irish tune
At the Lammas dance, I was in a trance
As she whirled with the lads of the town
And my heart did race just to see the face
Of the star of the County Down
From Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down
So I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked right
For a smile from my nut brown rose
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
'Til my plough was a rust colour brown
And a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down
From Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down
From Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down
