When I was a young un', I knew a lad from Ballybunion
He hadn't got a single penny to his name, you might say
He had a raggedy coat, and like two rubber boats
He kept his wellington boots on from December to May

Chorus:
It was Kevin Kelly, with his chopped off wellies
In the middle of the summer time he was looking fine!
His pants had holes in the knees but he was proud as you please
With his ol' wellies he keep strolling along

As we got older and slyer and bolder and the girls we had our eyes on they got older as well
With paint on their faces (with paint on their faces) and curves in nice places (curves in nice places!)
We were dressed to impress them and we thought we were swell!
Well our duds were in fashion (duds were in fashion!) to kindle their passion (kindle their passion!)
But there was Kevin on the dance floor looking anything but neat
He was tryin' to flirt (he was tryin' to flirt) in his hand-me-down shirt, (in his hand-me-down shirt!) with the same ol' wellies on his two big feet!

It was Kevin Kelly, with his chopped off wellies
In the middle of the summer time he was looking fine!
His pants had holes in the knees but he was proud as you please
With his ol' wellies he keep strolling along

Well we teased him and we mocked him, but sure that never shocked him, he painted on some laces and cut them down to look like shoes.
He was poor but he had style, he made everybody smile
He wore his ol' wellies!
He wore his ol' wellies!
He wore his ol' wellies!
Like he'd nothin' to lose!

The next time we found him, (next time we found him) well the girls were all around him (Girls were all around him)
He was busting the moves, he was happy as can be
One of the girls came near, (One of the girls came near) and whispered in my ear...
"Only boys who wear their wellies have a chance wit' me."

It was Kevin Kelly, with his chopped off wellies
In the middle of the summer time he was looking fine! (He was looking fine!)
His pants had holes in the knees but he was proud as you please
With his ol' wellies he keep strolling along


Lyrics submitted by rhiannoncabalist

Kelly's Wellies song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

0 Comments

sort form View by:
  • No Comments

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.