Skip to content
Linespedia

Kenmare River.

Topics: classic

'Tis pretty to be in Ballinderry,         'Tis pretty to be in Ballindoon,      But 'tis prettier far in County Kerry          Coortin' under the bran' new moon,                      Aroon, Aroon!     'Twas there by the bosom of blue Killarney          They came by the hundther' a-coortin' me;      Sure I was the one to give back their blarney,          An' merry was I to be fancy-free.      But niver a step in the lot was lighter,          An' divvle a boulder among the bhoys,      Than Phelim O'Shea, me dynamither,          Me illigant arthist in clock-work toys.     'Twas all for love he would bring his figgers          Of iminent statesmen, in toy machines,      An' hould me hand as he pulled the thriggers          An' scattered the thraytors to smithereens.      An' to see the Queen in her Crystial Pallus          Fly up to the roof, an' the windeys broke!      And all with divvle a trace of malus,--          But he was the bhoy that enjoyed his joke!      Then O, but his cheek would flush, an' 'Bridget,'          He 'd say, 'Will yez love me?' But I 'd be coy      And answer him, 'Arrah now, dear, don't fidget!'          Though at heart I loved him, me arthist bhoy!      One night we stood by the Kenmare river,          An' 'Bridget, creina, now whist,' said he,     'I'll be goin' to-night, an' may be for iver;          Open your arms at the last to me.'     'Twas there by the banks of the Kenmare river          He took in his hands me white, white face,      An' we kissed our first an' our last for iver--          For Phelim O'Shea is disparsed in space.     'Twas pretty to be by blue Killarney,         'Twas pretty to hear the linnets's call,      But whist! for I cannot attind their blarney,          Nor whistle in answer at all, at all.      For the voice that he swore 'ud out-call the linnet's          Is cracked intoirely, and out of chune,      Since the clock-work missed it by thirteen minutes          An' scattered me Phelim around the moon,                      Aroon, Aroon!

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"'Tis pretty to be in Ballinderry,..."

Exploring the themes of classic, Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch delivers a powerful performance in "Kenmare River."... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Classified Tags

Related lines

"By E. A. P.      In the sad and sodden street,         To and fro,      Flit the fever-stricken feet      Of the freshers as they meet,"

"Small is my secret--let it pass--         Small in your life the share I had,     Who sat beside you in the class,         Awed by the bright s"

"Deep, Love, yea, very deep.          And in the dark exiled,     I have no sense of light but still to creep     And know the breast, b"

"Rudiments, Rudiments, and Rudiments!     'Thinketh one made them i' the fit o' the blues.     'Thinketh one made them with the 'tips' to match"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Continue Reading

"By E. A. P.      In the sad and sodden street,  ..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.