A hungry feelin'
Came o'er me stealin'
And the mice were squealin'
In my prison cell
And the old triangle
Went jingle jangle
All along the banks
Of the Royal Canal
To begin the mornin'
A screw was bawlin'
"Get up you bowsey
And clean up your cell"
And the old triangle
Went jingle jangle
All along the banks
Of the Royal Canal
The lags were sleepin'
Humpy Gussey was creepin'
As I lay there weepin'
For my girl Sal
And the old triangle
Went jingle jangle
All along the banks
Of the Royal Canal
Up in the female prison
There are seventy-five women
'Tis among them
I wish I did dwell
Then the old triangle
Could go jingle jangle
All along the banks
Of the Royal Canal
All along the banks
Of the Royal Canal
Brendan Behan used this song to punctuate his play "The Quare Fella". A "screw" is a prison warder and a "lag" a long term prisoner. This is the version sung by the Dubliners and is a bit different than the much fuller original text.
