THE BIG STRONG MAN
(MY BROTHER SYLVESTE)
Traditional - Arranged by Eamonn Campbell & Patsy Watchorn.
Lyrics
Have you heard about the big strong man?
He lives in a caravan
Have you heard about the Jeffrey-Johnson fight?
Oh, Lord what a hell of a fight
You can take all the heavyweights you've got
We got a lad who could beat the whole lot
He used to ring the bells in the belfry
Now he's gonna fight Jack Dempsey
[Chorus]
'twas was my brother, Sylvest (what's he got?)
A row of forty medals on his chest (big chest!)
He killed fifty bad men in the West
He knows no rest
Bigger the man, hell's fire don't push (just shove)
Plenty o'room for you and me
He's got an arm like a leg
And a punch that would sink a battle ship (big ship!)
It takes all the army and the navy
To put the wind up Sylvest
[Chorus]
And he thought he'd take a trip to Italy
He thought that he'd go by the sea
He dived off the harbour in New York
And he swam like a man made of Cork
He saw the Lusitania in distress
He put the Lusitania on his chest
He drank all the water in the sea
And he walked all the way to Italy.
[Chorus]
He thought he'd take a trip to old Japan
So they brought out the whole brass brand
He played every instrument they'd got
What a lad, he played the whole lot.
Well the old church bells did ring
The old church choir did ing
They all turned out to bid farewell
To my big brother Sylvest.
(MY BROTHER SYLVESTE)
Traditional - Arranged by Eamonn Campbell & Patsy Watchorn.
Lyrics
Have you heard about the big strong man?
He lives in a caravan
Have you heard about the Jeffrey-Johnson fight?
Oh, Lord what a hell of a fight
You can take all the heavyweights you've got
We got a lad who could beat the whole lot
He used to ring the bells in the belfry
Now he's gonna fight Jack Dempsey
[Chorus]
'twas was my brother, Sylvest (what's he got?)
A row of forty medals on his chest (big chest!)
He killed fifty bad men in the West
He knows no rest
Bigger the man, hell's fire don't push (just shove)
Plenty o'room for you and me
He's got an arm like a leg
And a punch that would sink a battle ship (big ship!)
It takes all the army and the navy
To put the wind up Sylvest
[Chorus]
And he thought he'd take a trip to Italy
He thought that he'd go by the sea
He dived off the harbour in New York
And he swam like a man made of Cork
He saw the Lusitania in distress
He put the Lusitania on his chest
He drank all the water in the sea
And he walked all the way to Italy.
[Chorus]
He thought he'd take a trip to old Japan
So they brought out the whole brass brand
He played every instrument they'd got
What a lad, he played the whole lot.
Well the old church bells did ring
The old church choir did ing
They all turned out to bid farewell
To my big brother Sylvest.