Variants of Paddy on the Railway
Both narratives begin with An Irishman boarding a train from Greenock to Glasgow. He upsets the ladies in the carriage and is accused by a wealthy gent of travelling without the proper ticket.
The differences in the subsequent narratives are...
Bar304 Probably printed in Scotland Bar534 printed in London
The hero knocks down the railway conductor The hero knocks down the fellow passenger
and goes on his way to work on the harvest is arrested and sentenced to three months
on the treadmill(1)
Bar304 Chorus Bar534 Chorus
Engine, boiler, water tight, Hubbaboo, dideroo, fillaloo all the way
Driving in with all his might; Three hundred miles in half the day
Upon my soul it was a sight Ah! Says he, get out the way
To see the Greenock railway. I'm going by the railway
Bar304 stanzas of 8 lines of 8 feet Bar534 stanzas 12 lines of 8 feet
Different stanza lengths suggest different tunes were used.