The Barley Mow

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The Barley Mow is a traditional drinking game song, the point of which is to consume an entire beverage. When sung as a drinking game, each chorus must be sung in one breath and anyone who cannot finish it must take a drink. A second method is to drink during each verse, just after saying the words "good luck to the Barley Mow" the first time. According to this method, whatever is left in your glass when reaching the final verse "Company" must be consumed.

One version of the lyrics:

First Verse:

Here's good luck to the quart pot

Good luck to the Barley Mow

Jolly good luck to the quart pot

Good luck to the Barley Mow

Chorus:

Oh the quart pot, pint pot, half a pint, gill pot, half a gill, quarter gill, nipperkin and the brown bowl

Here's good luck, good luck, to the barley mow

Second Verse:

Now here's jolly good luck to the half gallon

Good luck to the Barley Mow'

Jolly good luck to the half gallon

Good luck to the Barley Mow'

Chorus (now one phrase longer):

Here's the half gallon, quart pot, pint pot, half a pint, gill pot, half a gill, quarter gill, nipperkin and the brown bowl

Here's good luck, good luck, good luck to the barley mow

With each chorus, another phrase is added similarly:

• gallon
• half bushel
• bushel
• half barrel
• barrel
• land-lord
• land-lady
• daughter (bar-maid)
• drayer
• slavey
• bookie
• brewer
• company

[edit] Irish Rovers

In their live album, the Irish Rovers sang the full verse this way. A "nipperkin" is half of a quarter gill, i.e. one thirty-second of a pint. The term "round bowl" is sometimes taken to mean whatever one's two hands "cupped together" can hold:

Here's good luck to the company,

Good luck to the Barley Mow;

Jolly good luck to the company,

Good luck to the Barley Mow;

Oh, the company, brewer,

landlord, daughter, barrel,

half barrel, gallon,

half gallon, pint pot,

half a pint, gill,

half a gill, quarter gill,

nipperkin and a round bowl;

Here's good luck, good luck,

Good luck to the Barley Mow!

[edit] External links

• The Barley Mow - Lyrics and audio files.