Oh a hungry feelin', came o'er me stealin' And the mice were squealin' in my prison cell And the auld triangle went jingle, jangle All along the banks of the Royal Canal
To begin the mornin', the screw was bawlin' Get up ye bowsie and clean up your cell And the auld triangle went jingle, jangle All along the banks of the Royal Canal
Now the screw was peepin', as the lag lay sleepin' Dreamin' 'bout his girl Sal And the auld triangle went jingle, jangle All along the banks of the Royal Canal
Up in the female prison there are seventy five women And among them now I wish that I did dwell Then that auld triangle could go jingle, jangle All along the banks of the Royal Canal
All along the banks of the Royal Canal
On a fine spring evenin', the lag lay dreamin' The seagulls wheelin' high above the wall And that auld triangle went jingle, jangle All along the banks for the Royal Canal
More Verses:
The wind was risin' and the day declinin' As I lay pining in my prison cell And that auld triangle went jingle, jangle All along the banks of the Royal Canal
On a fine spring evenin', the lag lay dreamin' The seagulls wheelin' high above the wall And that auld triangle went jingle, jangle All along the banks for the Royal Canal
The day was dyin' and the wind was sighin' As I lay crying in my prison cell And the auld triangle went jingle, jangle Along the banks of the Royal Canal
Domnic Behan
~~~
ABOUT THE SONG
The auld (old) triangle refers to the large metal triangle which was beaten each morning to waken prisoners in Mountjoy Jail, Dublin. The song is featured in the writer of the song Dominic Behan's writer brother, Brendan Behan's 'The Quare Fellow'. Brendan Behan was once an inmate of Mountjoy Jail.
The song here is covered by the late Ronnie Drew (of The Dubliners). It was also covered by The Dubliners, The Pogues, Bob Dylan and The Band, Eric Burdon, The Oysterband, Bert Jansen, The High Kings, and U2 to name but a few.