This is a cute little song about a goat dreaming of the day that he'll be slaughtered. He's thrilled of the prospect of being turned into a bodhran (pronounced...well, you'll hear it). A bodhran is a traditional Irish drum made from the skin of a goat.
Click here to hear Jim Flanagan performing this song.
Oh, I am a year-old kid, I'm worth scarcely 15 quid
I'm the kind of face that you might well look down on
But my value will increase at the time of my decease
For when I grow up I'm going to be a bodhran
If you kill me for my meat, oh, you won't find me sweet
Your palate I'm afraid I'll soon turn sour on
But if you do me in for the sake of my thick skin
You'll find I make a tasty little bodhran
Now my parents, Bill and Nan, they do not approve my plan
To be a yoke for every ... to pound on
But I would sooner scamper with a bang than with a whimper
And achieve reincarnation as a bodhran
I look forward to the day when I leave our ...
And become a drum to entertain the crowd on
And I'll make my presence felt with each well-delivered belt
As a fully qualified and licensed bodhran
It is when I'm killed and cured my career will be assured
I'll be a skin you see no scum nor scour on
But with studs around me rim, I'll be sound in wind and limb
And I'll make a handy-dandy little bodhran
Oh, me heart with joy expands when I dream of far-off lands
And consider all the streets that I will sound on
And I pity my poor ma who has never seen a flaw(?)
Or indulged in foreign travel as a bodhran
For a hornpipe or a reel, a dead donkey has no feel
Or a horse or cow or sheep that has its shroud on
And you can't join a jig if you're a former grade-A pig
But you can wail about the loft if you're a bodhran
So if e'er you're feeling low to a session you should go
And bring me there to exercise an hour on
You can strike a mighty thump on my belly, back, or rump
But I'll thank you if you'll wait till I'm a bodhran
When I dedicate my hide, I'll enhance the family pride
And tradition is a thing I won't fall down on
For I'll bear a few young bucks who'll inherit my good looks
And be proud to know their old dad is a bodhran
Now I think you've had enough of this rubbishy old stuff
So I'll put a sudden end to my ...
And quite soon my bloody bleat will become a steady beat
When I start my new existence as a bodhran
Vocals & Guitar: Jim Flanagan
Bodhran: Justin Murphy & Don Penzien (players, not goats!)
Written by: Brian O'Rourke
To buy Jim Flanagan's CD Blood Drops In Snow mail him at james.flanagan@usm.edu