Lyrics • Free • Celtic CDs • Podcast • Celtic Travel • Weddings • Patrons • Links
Johnny Jump Up
"Johnny Jump Up" lyrics and music traditional
Performed by Marc Gunn
From: Happy Songs of Death
I'll
tell you a story that happened to me
One day as I went down to Yore by the sea
The sun it was hot and the day it was warm,
Says I a quiet pint wouldn't do
me no harm
I
went in and I called for a bottle of stout
Says the barman, I'm sorry, all
the beer is sold out
Try whiskey or paddy, ten years in the wood
Says
I, I'll try cider, I've heard it was good.
Oh never, Oh never, Oh never again
If I live to be a hundred or a hundred and ten
I fell to the ground and I couldn't get up
After drinking a quart of the Johnny Jump Up
After
downing the third I went out to the yard
Where I bumped into Brody, the big
civic guard
Come here to me boy, don't you know I'm the law?
Well, I up
with me fist and I shattered his jaw
He
fell to the ground with his knees doubled up
But it wasn't I hit him, 'twas
Johnny Jump Up
The next thing I remember down in Cork by the sea
Was a
cripple on crutches and says he to me
I'm
afraid of me life I'll be hit by a car
Won't you help me across to the Celtic
Knot Bar?
After downing a quart of that cider so sweet
He threw down his
crutches and danced on his feet
I went up the lee road,
a friend for to see
They call it the madhouse in Cork by the Sea
Butl
when I got there, sure the truth I will tell,
They had this poor bugger locked
up in a cell
Said
the guard, testing him, say these words if you can,
"Around the rugged
rock the ragged rascal ran"
Tell him I'm not crazy, tell him I'm not
mad
It was only a sip of the bottle I had
Well,
a man died in the mines by the name of McNabb
They washed him and laid him
outside on the slab
And after the parlors measurements did take
His wife
brought him home to a bloody fine wake
Twas
about 12 o'clock and the beer was high
The corpse sits up and says with a
sigh
I can't get to heaven, they won't let me up
Til I bring them a quart
of the Johnny Jump Up
So
if ever you go down to Cork by the sea
Stay out of the ale house and take
it from me
If you want to stay sane don't you dare take a sup
Of that
devil drink cider called Johnny Jump Up
Chords: KEY Dm
[Dm]I'll
tell you a story that [C]happened to [Dm]me
One [Am]day as I went down to [Dm]Yore by the sea
The sun it was hot and the [C]day it was [Dm]warm,
Says I a quiet pint wouldn't [C]do
me no [Dm]harm
Background
I first found this song sung by Christy Moore and then later by 3 Pints Gone. It got my blood pumping and has turned into one of my favorite songs to perform live. Plus, it makes a great Celtic Halloween song. #CelticHalloween
Johnny Jump Up Video
from Happy Songs of Death CD
from home studio performance
from live performance at ALEP
from live streamed St Patrick's Day performance in 2016
You'll get a Ton of Free MP3s just for signing up.
Plus, I'll send you a free CD (you just pay the shipping).
Then there's podcasts, videos, and stories.
And that's just the beginning...