DJ Allyn – The Soundtrack for my Life

Whiskey in the Jar ~ Thin Lizzy  

Thin Lizzy is an Irish band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1969, and best known for their songs, Whiskey in the Jar, Jailbreak, and the Boys are back in town.

The interesting thing about Thin Lizzy is the fact that it is not only a multiracial band, members were also made up of both sides of the Irish border and from both Catholic and Protestant communities — all during a time when Ireland was still going through “The Troubles“.

The founding member, John Lynott, died in 1986 from heart failure probably due to years of drug abuse.

“Whiskey in the Jar” is a famous Irish traditional song about a highwayman (usually in the Cork and Kerry mountains), who is betrayed by his wife or lover. It is one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs, and has been recorded by groups such as The Dubliners, The Pogues, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Highwaymen, Roger Whittaker, the Clancy Brothers, and Tommy Makem, The Irish Rovers, the Poxy Boggards, The Limeliters, King Creosote, The Shatilla Shakers and the Brobdingnagian Bards.  It was first given its rock veneer by John Lyncott, and has since been covered by U2, Smokie, Metalica (who won a grammy for it), The Grateful Dead, among others.

Whiskey in the Jar

As I was goin’ over the Cork and Kerry mountains
I saw Captain Farrell and his money he was countin’
I first produced my pistol and then produced my rapier
I said stand o’er and deliver or the devil he may take ya

Musha ring dum a doo dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar-o

I took all of his money and it was a pretty penny
I took all of his money and I brought it home to Molly
She swore that she’d love me, never would she leave me
But the devil take that woman for you know she tricked me easy

Musha ring dum a doo dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar-o

Being drunk and weary I went to Molly’s chamber
Takin’ my money with me and I never knew the danger
For about six or maybe seven in walked Captain Farrell
I jumped up, fired off my pistols and I shot him with both barrels

Musha ring dum a doo dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar-o

Now some men like the fishin’ and some men like the fowlin’
And some men like ta hear a cannon ball a roarin’
Me I like sleepin’ specially in my Molly’s chamber
But here I am in prison, here I am with a ball and chain yeah

Musha ring dum a doo dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar-o

And i got drunk on whiskey-o
And I love, i love, i love, i love, i love, i love my molly-o

• Audio from the 1973 Vagabonds of the Western World Album: