{t:Mattie}
{st:Johnny Mulhearn}


[G]Mattie walked out on a frozen night
He was [C]heading for the pub but he [G]had no delight
He [C]headed down the railway track
And his [D]old cow Delia sat a [G]lowin' him back


He [G]met with a dark and staggering man
As he [C]passed him by he shouted [G]back at him
[C]Mattie cant you see whats happening to me
I [D]cannot feel the [G]fight


The [G]very last house that I have left
Half impr[C]essed with with my rhymes is now [G]dead to me
[C]All I've got left is the beat of the stagger
[D]Heading down the Curragh[G] line

But [G]Mattie passed on as quick as he could
He [C]couldn't stand a drunkin man [G]sober
All he [C]wanted was the lights in the bar
At the [D]Nightingale and the Wild [G]Rover


{soc}
[D]When he came in they said "[G]Ah you're back
Did [D]Delia drive you out with your [G]spoutin' and your swearin'
We [D]don't want to hear about [G]Bunker Hayden
[C]Later you can give us the '[D]Girls of Kin[G]kane'"
{eoc}


{c:Instrumental}


The [G]fear an tí eyed him warily
As he [C]handed him his first jug of [G]porter
He says "You [G]must have seen the bishop's ghost tonight
To put the [D]dry look back in your [G]eye"


But [G]Mattie would not be taken in
By their [C]jibin' and their reg[G]alin'
He [C]found himself a freshly [G]blown crew
And [D]fell in with their sportin' and their [G]bailin'


But as [G]he was going home in the very same spot
Where he [C]met his dark fam[G]iliar
He [C]seen him coming back [G]down the line
And he was [D]bright and strange and [G]fine


As he [G]passed him by Mattie threw out his arms
Trying to [C]grab hold of his [G]likeness
In the [C]morning all they found was a [G]frozen corpse
At the [D]butt of the Curragh [G]line


{soc}
And at the [D]wake they were lashing down
[G]The drops of brandy, the o[D]ld fashioned habit in the c[G]hurch
They were lashing down [D]pounds and fivers
So [C]Mattie would be fine in the [D]old by and [G]by
{eoc}


{c:Instrumental}


[G]Mattie walked out on a frozen night
He was [C]heading for the pub but he [G]had no delight
He [C]headed down the railway track
And his [D]old cow Delia sat a [G]lowin' him back


He [G]met with a dark and staggering man
As he [C]passed him by he shouted [G]back at him
[C]Mattie cant you see whats happening to me
I [D]cannot feel the [G]fight


{soc}
And at the [D]wake they were lashing down
[G]The drops of brandy, the o[D]ld fashioned habit in the c[G]hurch
They were lashing down [D]pounds and fivers
So [C]Mattie would be fine in the [D]old by and [G]by
{eoc}


{c:Instrumental}