Raise It Up, Me Friends

[Verse 1] The kettle’s gone cold by the back-room stove, Rain taps time on the windowpane, Maire pours stout while the old crowd jokes, And Seán starts the chorus again. There’s a coat on a chair from a cousin in Cork, A card game stalled at the door, We’ve all got a reason to stay one more, And somehow we’re singing for four. [Chorus] So raise it up, me friends, raise it up, Let the whole old room join in, For the road may bend and the years may run, But tonight we’re home again. Raise it up, me friends, raise it up, Till the last bright glass is dry, With a tune in our feet and a hand to the beat, And the morning waiting outside. [Verse 2] There’s a fiddle that’s missing a strip of varnish, And a whistle with a dent in its side, They’ve carried us through every christening dance, And the night we missed the tide. Now Niall tells tales with his sleeves rolled high, While Bridie keeps count of the score, The rain can keep falling wherever it likes, We’ll make room for one singer more. [Chorus] So raise it up, me friends, raise it up, Let the whole old room join in, For the road may bend and the years may run, But tonight we’re home again. Raise it up, me friends, raise it up, Till the last bright glass is dry, With a tune in our feet and a hand to the beat, And the morning waiting outside. [Instrumental] [Bridge] When the boats pull out and the lamps go dark, When the names grow hard to recall, There’ll be one more verse in the corner booth, And a place at the table for all. [Final Chorus] So raise it up, me friends, raise it up, Let the whole old room join in, For the road may bend and the years may run, But tonight we’re home again. Raise it up, me friends, raise it up, Till the last bright glass is dry, With a tune in our feet and a hand to the beat, And the morning waiting outside. [Outro] One more verse, one more round, One more voice to fill the room, Raise it up, me friends, raise it up, We’ll be home before the moon.