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By Robert Boddington
Captain O’Rourke was a great ship captain
A great vessel had he
Twas a grand galleon so shiny and new
And he went out to sail on the deep ocean blue
But the ship hit a reef and was holed through and through
And sank with O’Rourke and all of his crew
But he cried
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
Don’t be ailin, when I’m sailin
I am a fine ship’s captain
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
There is no ship that I can’t man
I am a fine ship’s captain
Captain O’Rourke was a strong, old captain
A great vessel had he
Twas a fine little frigate, and boy was she fast
When she hit the water all boats were outclassed
But O’Rourke pulled a rope and it ripped off the mast
Then it capsized and filled up and went right down fast
But he cried
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
Don’t be ailin, when I’m sailin
I am a fine ship’s captain
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
There is no ship that I can’t man
I am a fine ship’s captain
Captain O’Rourke was an okay captain
A great vessel had he
Twas a rickety rowboat which wasn’t too grand
And one day O’Rourke tried to push it off land
But the boat had no bottom so when it left the sand
It sank to the depths of the Galway Bay strand
But he cried
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
Don’t be ailin, when I’m sailin
I am a fine ship’s captain
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
There is no ship that I can’t man
I am a fine ship’s captain
Captain O’Rourke was a silly mad captain
A great vessel had he
He sailed on a thimble, he could barely fit in
He thought it was sturdy as it was made out of tin
But all of the holes let the water right in
And he dredged back to shore soaked to the skin
But he cried
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
Don’t be ailin, when I’m sailin
I am a fine ship’s captain
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
There is no ship that I can’t man
I am a fine ship’s captain
Captain O’Rourke was no ship captain
A great vessel had he
He lived on old Ireland (ALT: an island) and one morning lo
He found a large plug and he pulled it out slow
And from that deep hole water did overflow
And he sank all of Ireland (ALT: the whole island) in one fell blow
But he cried
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
Don’t be ailin, when I’m sailin
I am a fine ship’s captain
Riddley dinky do la do rye an
I am Captain O’Rourke I am
There is no ship that I can’t man
I am a fine ship’s captain
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