Oh, me name is McNamara, I'm the leader of the band
Although we're few in numbers, we're the finest in the land
We play at wakes and weddings and at every fancy ball
And when we play to funerals, we play the march from Saul
Oh, the drums go bangin', the cymbals bangin', the horns they blaze away
McCarthy pumps the old bassoon while I the pipes do play
And Hennessy, Tennessee, tootles the flute and the music is somethin' grand
A credit to old Ireland is McNamara's band
Right now we are rehearsin' for a very swell affair
The annual celebration, all the gentry will be there
When General Grant to Ireland came, he took me by the hand
Says he, I never saw the lakes in McNamara's band
Oh, the drums go bangin', the cymbals bangin', the horns they blaze away
McCarthy pumps the old bassoon while I the pipes do play
And Hennessy, Tennessee, tootles the flute and the music is somethin' grand
A credit to old Ireland is McNamara's band
Oh, my name is Uncle Julius and from Sweden I did come
To play with McNamara's band and beat the big bass drum
And when I march along the street, the ladies think I'm grand
They shout, there's Uncle Julius playin' with an Irish band
Oh, I wear a bunch of shamrocks and a uniform of green
And I'm the funniest lookin' Swede that you have ever seen
There is a bunch of shamrocks and a uniform of green
And I'm the only Swede in McNamara's band
Oh, the drums go bangin', the cymbals bangin', the horns they blaze away
McCarthy pumps the old bassoon while I the pipes do play
And Hennessy, Tennessee, tootles the flute and the music is somethin' grand
A credit to old Ireland is McNamara's band
Oh, my name is Uncle Julius and from Sweden is McNamara's band