How to Play "The Irish Rover" (Mandolin)

Canadian folk musician Jesse Ferguson shows how he plays the traditional Irish drinking song "The Irish Rover" on mandolin. Lyrics and chords below.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:35 Chords Used
3:49 Strum pattern (first verse)
4:44 Strum pattern (rest of song)
9:09 Full speed verse
11:03 Full speed chorus
12:15 Wrapping up
The Irish Rover
(traditional, arrang. J. Ferguson, Jan. 2014)
110 bpm
V1. [let chords ring on this verse only]
G C
In the year of our Lord eighteen-hundred and six
G D
we set sail from the cold quay of Cork.
G C
We were bound far away with a cargo of bricks
G D G
for the fine city hall in New York.
G D
We’d an elegant craft; she was rigged fore-and-aft.
G D
And how the trade winds drove her.
G C
She had twenty-three masts and withstood sev’ral blasts,
G* D G
and we called her the Irish Rover.
*begin strumming here.
Chorus:
G C G
And fare thee well, me pretty little girl,
G D D7
for I must sail away.
G C G
And fare the well, me pretty little girl,
G D G
for I must sail away.
Interlude: G D G
V2.
There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee;
there was Hogan from County Tyrone.
There was Johnny McGurk, who was scared stiff of work,
and a man from West Mead named Malone.
There was Slugger O'Toole, who was drunk as a rule,
and fightin’ Bill Tracey from Dover.
And your man named McCann from the banks of the Bann
was the skipper of the Irish Rover.
Chorus:
V3.
We had one million bales of old nanny goats’ tails.
We had two million buckets of stone.
We had three million sides of old blind horses’ hides,
and four million barrels of bone.
We had five million hogs, six million dogs,
seven million barrels of porter.
We had eight million bags of the best Sligo rags
in the hold of the Irish Rover.
Chorus:
V4.
Well, we’d sailed seven years when the mizzens broke out,
and the ship lost its way in a fog (blind fog!).
And the whole of the crew was reduced down to two:
‘twas meself and the captain’s old dog.
Then the ship struck a rock**-Lord, what a shock!
I nearly tumbled over.
We spun ten times around, and the poor old dog was drowned.
Now I’m the last of the Irish Rover.
**pause guitar on “rock.”
Chorus:
Repeat final line twice. Final repetition played:
For I must sail aw---ay.
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[@BardofCornwall]

The chords and lyrics are in the video description for all of my videos. Thanks for stopping by!

[@chrisclews4162]

Thanks Jesse, just dusted my mandolin off and started learning this. Back to driving the wife, kids and dogs mad. Happy days

[@tiffanycrowe2577]

THANK YOU! You’re very thorough in explaining and showing up close ..it helps so much

[@rongplanet]

Wonderful singing voice! Great tutorial..

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks so much!

[@SuperCyril2]

Thank you Jesse. I appreciate how well you teach us beginners. Keeping it simple for us to learn the basic's. You rock bro. 🍻

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks, SuperCyril!

[@willinglis3302]

Been picking a mando up at Long & McQuade every once in a while. You definitely help inspire me to learn. I'm hoping to learn some Irish Descendants and Dubliners. Thanks for the time and effort in sharing your knowledge. Appreciate it!
Will, Burlington ON

[@irenewaller1485]

Thanks Jesse. Im just learning and you make it look so fun!!

[@healthsongs]

Cheers Jesse.
First lesson I've had. Love your singing style also.
Rob

[@nancyabb4466]

Thanks Jesse. I am new to the mandolin or any musical instrument and I find it hard to hear most of the tutorials on here, but yours was nice and clear. I appreciate your great instructions and tips as well. Would love to watch you play/teach some Rod Stewart (Mandolin Wind, Maggie May) or Led Zeppelin (Battle of Evermore, Going to California). You Rock!

[@joycerich2375]

THANK YOU! YOU ARE VERY GOOD INSTRUCTOR!!

[@MarkusSprenger]

Thanks great lesson to start Mandolin

[@aoibheannkavanagh6525]

You have an amazing voice!!!!!!!

[@garmoshkachornaya]

Thanks Jesse, your explanation of the strum pattern in this video really helped. Also listening to it at .75 speed (although it makes you sound kind of drunk :)).

[@earlstewart9832]

Another great tutorial, good job

[@Thisisspacemusic]

cool video! Sounds really good man!

[@CreativeSteve69]

great videos as always Jesse. 😃

[@cindyyeager8627]

What a great voice.

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks for the support, Cindy!

[@setamonkeytoy]

just started learning the mandolin, play the uke and guitar but my mandolins proving to be a bit of a mistress (some of those chuck chords are less than pleasant to play) so all help improving is greatly appreciated. thanks for sharing your time and knowledge.

[@BardofCornwall]

Glad to help!

[@rebeccaarman4883]

Thanks, great teaching

[@averytech9719]

your a good singer

[@johnnolan4482]

thanks jesse

[@dans4dawings]

very helpful, thanks

[@eddiemcdowell988]

Great that will help me a lot mate ☘️

[@banjodeano2202]

thanks for the upload, i get my mando tomorrow, i cant wait to get started on this

[@BanjoPicker]

Excellent TY

[@jahboi9539]

look I love your music btw I didn't know you were Canadian from where I'm from the French speaking province of Quebec :)

[@DroneGirl1]

Brilliant! Slan :) !

[@1folho]

Thanks.

[@AmosTopno]

my right ear enjoyed more than left

[@mikedoris3505]

could you do the Wild Colonial Boy . Please

[@joaopprb]

hello jesse, i'm a big fan. could you pls show us how to play the rocky road to dublin, I've been looking for a tutorial but I've haven't found anything. tks, keep doing it

[@THELanceParrish]

Is there any chance you’ve got a mandolin tutorial for “By the Risin’ of the Moon”? If not, could you do that? I’d be INCREDIBLY appreciative. Either way, thanks for these tutorials!

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks for your support, Lance. I don't have that one up as a tutorial yet.

[@banjodeano2202]

This is brilliant, but jeeeeez, that strum pattern is not coming easy to me,

[@gonic1958]

Jesse, great videos as always, what is the brand of your mandolin? It sounds great and really good projection.

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks, Gonic. It's a vintage Hondo mandolin (around 25 years old).

[@lilycottrell3808]

im really struggling with bringing the strumming up to beat, i can do it slow fine but when i go faster it doesnt sound right :/

[@eddiemcdowell988]

Aye great how do I print off the words and chords below . Thanks

[@BardofCornwall]

Hi Eddie. You'll have to cut and paste them into a document (for example, in Microsoft Word or Notepad).

[@Lao_Xiashi]

"No jokes please", Lol.

[@RuggedlyCuddly]

Hey man, great lesson. What kind of picks are you using? Looks pretty thin. I keep being told I need to play with heavy picks, but I find they make strumming with rhythm harder than a more flexible thin pick, or even just the side of my thumb.
Cheers

[@BardofCornwall]

Hi Andrew, I started playing thick picks with mando and guitar, but switched to medium around 10 years ago.

[@TristanandIsolt]

Jesse I notice you are doing a lot of mandolin tutorial. who are some of your favorite mandolin players? I'm very fond of Chris Thile of Nickel Creek.

[@BardofCornwall]

I'm a huge fan of Thile, as well. I'd say he's the best I've heard. Thanks for your kind words on my videos.

[@TristanandIsolt]

Any kind words I send your way are well deserved. It's cool to find out that you are a Chris Thile fan as well.

[@lanemcelfresh2230]

Hey +Jesse ferguson what kind of mandolin do you have

[@BardofCornwall]

Hi Lane. It's a vintage Hondo mandolin.

[@lanemcelfresh2230]

cause i'm thinking on buying a mandolin the one i'm looking at is a Rogue

[@Thisisspacemusic]

I had an epiphone accoutic electric a few years ago and it sounded pretty nice for 130.00 usd

[@conallmarley]

Hi Jesse! Ha! I have a Hondo 'F-Style' that I purchased in a pawn shop in TN nearly 20 years ago. I just had it worked on by a guy who has built guitars for Doc Watson. It sounds pretty good.

[@brianhunley5302]

Is that a gshock?

[@BardofCornwall]

It is. I have a couple of them.

[@brahimklose]

what is the name for this song ?