Carbon Leaf

The Donnybrook Affair

1 Meaning

Add Yours

Q&A

The Donnybrook Affair Lyrics

A row, a ruction, a fracas, an affray
A rough and tumble free-for-all
A broil, a brawl, a melee
A ruckus to be reckoned with and now without delay
We're taking the road to the Dodder on down
To march in the last parade

A row, a ruction, a fracas, an affray
A rough and tumble free-for-all
A broil, a brawl, a melee
A ruckus to be reckoned with if anyone wants to dare
We're taking the road to the Dodder on down
For the Donnybrook affair

I will go, I will meet you there
I will spend a week or two with you at Donnybrook Fair
I will go, I will meet you there
But the council's up in arms
They aim to take it away, I swear
The council's up in arms
They aim to take it away, I swear
A license for leisure
Whatever be the pleasure
The council's always up in arms
To try and take it away, hey

Play the harp and play the fiddle
Play the whistle too
Bang the drum and use the lungs
To get the message through
But you fight, you might get tar-and-feathered
So, bow and say a prayer
To the Commission for the Abolition
Of the Donnybrook Fair

A row, a ruction, a fracas, an affray
A rough and tumble free-for-all
A broil, a brawl, a melee
A ruckus to be reckoned with if anyone wants to dare
We're takin' the road to the Dodder on down
For the Donnybrook affair

A row, a ruction, a fracas, an affray
A rough and tumble free-for-all
A broil, a brawl, a melee
A ruckus to be reckoned with and now, without delay
We're taking the road to the Dodder on down
To march in the last parade

I will go, I will meet you there
I will spend a week or two with you at Donnybrook Fair
I will go, I will meet you there
But the council's up in arms
And they aim to take it away, I swear

I will go, I will meet you there
I will spend a week or two with you at Donnybrook Fair
I will go, I will meet you there
But the council's up in arms
They aim to take it away, I swear
The council's up in arms
They aim to take it away, I swear
The council's always up in arms
To try and take it away, hey

Submitted by

nikkus34 On Mar 24, 2013

What about everything?

Let Your Troubles Roll By

Changeless

The Boxer

Desperation Song

Play the harp and play the fiddle 
Play the whistle too
Bang the drum and use the lungs
To get the message through
But you fight, you might get tar-and-feathered 
So, bow and say a prayer 
To the Commission for the Abolition 
Of the Donnybrook Fair

A row, a ruction, a fracas, an affray
A rough and tumble free-for-all 
A broil, a brawl, a melee
A ruckus to be reckoned with if anyone wants to dare
We're taking the road to the Dodder on down
For Donnybrook affair

I will go, I will meet you there
I will spend a week or two with you at Donnybrook Fair
I will go, I will meet you there
But the council's up in arms
And they aim to take it away, I swear

I will go, I will meet you there
I will spend a week or two with you at Donnybrook Fair
I will go, I will meet you there
But the council's up in arms
They aim to take it away, I swear
The council's up in arms
They aim to take it away, I swear
The council's always up in arms
To try and take it away, hey

Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks!

These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators.

You must be logged in to edit lyrics.

Unable to save lyrics. Please try again.

Lyrics cannot contain links.

Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours.

Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

nikkus34

Submitter

2013-03-24 17:20:42

1 Meaning

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Sort by

by scotto12

13y ago

It's about the fair that was held in Donnybrook, Dublin, from the 13th through 19th centuries. The so-called fair was actually more of a riot - people fought mercilessly, hence the chorus of song. The government of Ireland tried relentlessly over the years to shut the fair down ("A license for leisure/whatever be the pleasure/the Council's always up in arms/to try and take it away"), however the license was never revoked until the late 1800s when it's licensee passed away. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnybrook_Fair

Song Meaning

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.