Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill Explained

"Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill" is an American folk song first published in 1888 and attributed to Thomas Casey (words) and later Charles Connolly (music). It is listed as number 4401 in the Roud Folk Song Index.^[1] The song is a work song, and makes references to the construction of the American railroads in the mid-19th century. The title refers to Irish workers, drilling holes in rock to blast out railroad tunnels. It may mean either to tarry as in delay, or to terrier dogs which dig their quarry out of the ground,^[2] or from the French word for an auger, tarière. The song has been recorded by The Chad Mitchell Trio, The Weavers and Makem and Clancy, among many others.

Lyrics

One version runs:

Every morning at seven o'clockThere's twenty tarriers a workin at the rockThe boss comes along and he says, "Keep stillAnd come down heavy on the cast iron drill."

Chorus:So drill, ye tarriers, drillAnd drill, ye tarriers, drillOh it's work all day for the sugar in your tay [i.e. tea]Down beyond the railwaySo drill, ye tarriers, drill.

Our new foreman is Dan McCannI'll tell you sure, He was a blamed mean manLast week a premature blast went offAnd a mile in the air went big Jim Goff.[Chorus]

Next time payday comes aroundJim Goff was short one buck he found"What for?" asked he, then this reply"You were docked for the time you were up in the sky."[Chorus]

A verse sung by The Easy Riders circa 1956 runs:The boss was a fine man down to the groundAnd he married a lady six foot roundShe baked good bread and she baked it wellBut she baked that bread just as hard as hell

See also

• The Tarriers
• List of train songs

References

External links

• Drill Ye Tarriers Drill (lyrics and embedded MIDI tune)
• Traditional Ballad Index, California State University at Fresno

Notes and References

1. Web site: Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, Roud Number 4401 . 2024-03-28 . www.vwml.org.
2. Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong (1980, 2000) by Norm Cohen, University of Illinois Press, p. 555,