On a recent trip to Tasmania, my wife and I stayed with my sister in beautiful New Norfolk, near Hobart in Tasmania. I wanted to do a porch song, Lew Dite style, but could not set up the inbuilt camera to record facing the house. However I did it the other way round. I didn't manage to get the Derwent River in the background, but the scenery is quite nice.

I am joined here by my nephew Lachlan, and he and I dedicate this video to his father. Happy birthday, Richard!

Also known as "Poor Paddy Works on the Railway" and Pat Works on the Railway, the origins of this popular folk song are unclear, though it probably referred initially to Irish working on the railways in England. It may have begun as a music hall song before passing into the oral tradition, and was sung both by railway workers and by sailors as a sea chanty for capstan or pumps. You can hear the chantey version sung here by Ranzo (hultonclint), YouTube expert on songs of the sea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WW7ktFM9gw

Carl Sandburg claimed, in "The American Songbag", that the song was published in sheet music in the early 1850s, but the earliest confirmed date of publication is 1864. The earliest recording was by Ernest Bourne, collected and recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1938.

One version of the song, with the "fil-i-me-oo-ree-oo-ri-ay" chorus, was popularized by Pete Seeger. It was then picked up by Irish groups such as The Dubliners, and has become a standard part of the repertoire of many Irish folk groups, including The Wolftones and The Pogues.

You can see a playlist of my Irish songs here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=373C27204B0BB31F

For lyrics and chords of my songs please see my website: http://www.raymondcrooke.com