(Sung by Van at the Last Waltz rehearsal)
Over in Killarney
Many years ago,
Me Mither sang a song to me
In tones so sweet and low.
Just a simple little ditty,
In her good ould Irish way,
And l'd give the world if she could sing
That song to me this day.

Chorus:
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby.

Oft in dreams I wander
To that cot again,
I feel her arms a-huggin' me
As when she held me then.
And I hear her voice a-hummin'
To me as in days of yore,
When she used to rock me fast asleep
Outside the cabin door.


This song was first a hit for Chauncey Olcott in 1914. It was included in Bing's movie Going My Way, where he sang it to a weary Father Fitzgibbon. Bing recorded the song for Decca on July 7, 1944. It quickly became another million-seller for Bing and spent 12 weeks on the Billboard charts in 1944, reaching as high as No. 4. For reasons unknown to me, Bing re-recorded the song on July 17, 1945. Both versions appear on the MCA CD Top O' the Morning: Bing Crosby's Irish Collection