Rags to Riches (a song)

The first time I saw her was down by the docks
Just herself and a whistle wrapped up in a box
She was begging for pennies as she hid from the wind
And tunes she was playing lingered long in my mind

She played 'The Wild Rover' and 'The Black Velvet Band'
And I placed a new shilling in the palm of her hand
She thanked me by offering my fortune to see
If I would walk with her to Paddy McGee's

Well, the bar it was empty as we walked through the door
As she led me upstairs to the second floor
And she told me to sit on the dusty old bed
She looked in my eyes and these words she said

'Rags to riches for one of us plainly I see
Riches to rags for the other may be'
She kissed me so gently my heart it was won
And we lay together 'til night it was done

When I awoke my head was as sore
As if I’d been drinking for twenty or more
My wallet and clothing I could not find
And of the young woman there wasn’t a sign

I wrapped myself up in an old linen sheet
And by the back alleys I made for the street
I made it back home by the cold morning light
But I could not forget her, try as I might

The next time I saw her was Mulligan's ball
She paraded herself as a lady and all
Dressed in a gown of satins so fine
I swore to myself that her heart would be mine

I took it upon me to ask for a dance
And she did not deny me, nor my bold advance
She looked up and asked me, 'Pray tell me your name'
As I looked in her eyes, these words I did say:

'Rags to riches for one of us plainly I see
Riches to rags for the other may be'
With kissed with a passion, her heart it was won
And we danced together ‘til night it was done

So it’s down to the church as the dawn it did break
In front of our witness our pledge for to take
And the love shared between us will never depart
For when she stole my wallet, she captured my heart