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THE  FERRYMAN

Time signature:  4/4
Pete St. John
UNDER CONSTRUCTION:  The accordion notation and youTube keys need to be checked

Accordion Notation
Beats per bar = 4
Beat symbol = Dot ( . )  or equivalent   
​ 
Either row  =   Buttons  2* to  8*
Verse 1 (of 3)

 "4  "4   |   .5  .5     .5      .5*   |   .:5      "5*  "6*   |     .6     .6   ;6  "6   |   .5*  :5
Oh, the     lit- tle boats are     gone  from the    breast of  Ann-a      Lif- fey,

  "5  "5   |  "5* "5*   :5*   .5*   |      ;5*  "5*  ;5  "4*   |   ::5~ | ~:
And the    fer- ry- men  are    strand-ed  on  the    quay;

  "5*   "6*   |   .6   .6      .6      .6   |   "6  :5     "5  "5   |    .5*  .5* .5*  .5   |   .:5 
Sure, the     Dub-lin docks are      dy-ing,  and a      way of  life  is     gone,

​"4 "4*   |   .5   .5   .5   .5   |   .5    .4*  .3*   .2*   |   ::3~ | ~:
 And,       Mol-ly,  it  was    part of  you and       me___.



Chorus: 
​
    .6*     .6   |   :7*     ;7* "7*   |   .:7*      .7     |     :8*   ;8*  "8*   |   .7  :6
Where the    straw-ber- ry      beds  sweep   down  to  the      Lif-fey,

  .5   |   .5*  .5*  .5*   .5*   |   .5*  .5*     .5    .4*   |   ::5~ | ~:
You   kiss   a-way  the     wor-ries from my       brow__;

.5* .6*   |    .6    .6     ;6   "7*  |   :6     .5      .5   |     .5*  .5*    ;5*   "5*  |   .5*   :5
  I___      love you well   to  -  day  and    I'll     love you more   to  - mor-row,

.4   4*   |   .5  .5       .5     .5*   |   "5  ;4*    .3*    .2*   |   ::3~ | ~::  
If  you    ev - er  loved  me,     Mol-ly,  love  me        now___.



GUITAR CHORDS

For Guitar players who wish to accompany the embedded videos - 
  • Click HERE for chords for 1st verse & chorus in the key of A (& repeat for the other verses)
  • Click HERE for chords in the key of G (noting that you need to realign the chord symbols in the first line of the first verse;  the other lines and verses seem OK)
For other keys, use one of the above, with an appropriate placement of capo.
If playing in A, use capo at:   fret 1 to sound Bb     fret 2 = B     fret 3 = C    fret 4 = Db    fret 10 = G
If playing in G, use capo at:  fret 2 to sound  A      fret 3 = Bb    fret 4 = B    fret 5 = C      fret 6 = Db

Embedded youTube VIDEOS

Total of 12 videos in various keys:   A=4     Bb=2     B=2     C=2     Db=1     G=1

Key:  A

Poetic Introduction (2 minutes)

Singing begins at time 2:15

Singer:  Padraig Bailey with
             Pete St. John and the Company

​Posted by:  12stringslinger


Key:  A

Singer:   ?

​Posted by:  ​Rebel Lyrics

Key:  A

Group:  The Dubliners

​Singer:  Patsy Matchorn

​Posted by:  Celtic Note

Key:  Bb
​
​Group:  The Dublin City Ramblers

​Singer:  Patsy Watchorn


Posted by:  Alan Donogoe

Key:  G

Group:   Erins Own

Posted by: siobhanshamrock
​

Key:  C ?

Group:  The Kilkennys  

Posted by:  Jeannine Retzilik



Key:   Db

Singer:  Derek Ryan

​Posted by:  Derek Ryan - Topic

Key:  B

Group:  Erin Go Bragh

Posted by:  Erin go bragh Dublin


Key:  A

Group:  Clover Limeric Ireland

​Posted by:  Clover Limerick Ireland

​

Key:  Bb

Group:  The Lindsays

Posted by: The Lindsays

Key:  B

Singer:   Tony Archibald

Posted by:  threelegsoman

Tony is playing in key of G, but with capo on fret 4, it is sounding in key of B.

Key:  C

Group:  Roisin Dubh

​Posted by:  Alan Donohoe

This song begins at time t = 1:12 

Background Materials, Information & Links

​Lyrics:

Oh, the little boats are gone from the breast of Anna Liffey,
And the ferrymen are stranded on the quay;
Sure, the Dublin docks are dying, and a way of life is gone,
And, Molly, it was part of you and me.


Chorus:  Where the strawberry beds sweep down to the Liffey,
                You kiss away the worries from my brow;
                I  love you well today and  I'll love you more tomorrow,
                If you ever loved me, Molly, love me now.


'Twas the only job I had.   It was hard but never lonely.
And the Liffey ferry made a man of me;
Now it's gone without a whisper, half forgotten even now,
Well it's over, Molly, over, can't you see?


Chorus:

Now I'll tend the yard and  I'll spend my days in talkin',
And I'll hear them whisper, "Charlie's on the dole;"
But, Molly, we're still livin' and, darlin', we're still young,
And the river never owned my heart and soul.


Chorus x 2.

Background Links:
Click HERE for additional (wikipedia) info about this song.

Click HERE  for (wikipedia) biographical info on Pete St. John
​

NOTE  1 - Copyright:
​Most of 
the contents of this site, in print, audio and video formats, is "copyright" protected.   
Users are responsible for ensuring that their usage is permitted by Canadian and international copyright law and agreements.  Check the Heads-Up (Read & Heed) button on the home page for additional information.

NOTE 2 - Composers, Performers & Publishers:
Though not revenue generating
, this site high-lights and celebrates some of my favorite composers, performers, and publishers, and encourages you to purchase their products, whether in paper, CD or electronic formats.
​

DISCLAIMER 1:  Browser Compatibility:
This site has been tested on the 2020 Chrome, Edge and Brave browsers without problem.  However my current (January 2021) Firefox browser does not always properly align the button notes with its corresponding lyrics.

DISCLAIMER 2 - Errors & Omissions:
Many of these tune pages are still in early stages of development, probably with many errors and omissions.  Make corrections as needed.

Copyright © 2015