Online discussions about the origin of this song "Steve O'Donnell's Wake" and about the lyrics display very little unanimity. Different performances reflect the lack of agreement, probably because most of us who love this song just want to get right to the beer, gin, whiskey, wine and cake of the chorus. No wonder no one can remember the original words. Not even the list of libations is agreed upon.
This page, which claims to reproduce the original lyrics dating to 1889, is unfortunately itself incomprehensible in places.
For example, it should say the "crepe" is hung upon the door, not the inscrutable "crane". Hanging black crepe was the common custom to signify a house in mourning in times gone by. And what could it possibly mean for a barber to come and shave "the sluggers from his throat"? No, "The barber came and shaved the Galway slugger's throat" is no doubt more to the original sense.
O'Donnell is presumably a successful Irish fighter from Galway, a famous boxer, who has died. This is why he is beloved by the high and the low whom he had entertained. Some of these no doubt owed their good fortune to O'Donnell, betting on him as they did, which is the real reason why some now felt sorry and bad. All bets are now off. As everyone came to see him fight in life, now men of all walks have come to pay their respects that he is dead, which only burnishes the lustre of his reputation. Accordingly it appears that in the chorus "biters", which makes absolutely no sense, has been corrupted from "writers", that is, sports writers, who were accustomed to regaling their newspaper readers with O'Donnell's exploits in the ring. They are mentioned first in attendance at the wake, followed by fellow fighters, then members of the coal mining community, the experts with dynamite, then men elected to high office and finally the aspirants thereto, Irishmen all. It's a fine picture.
On the other hand, the version by Hum and Strum, a Jew and a Catholic, dating from 1947 and afterwards, evidently recoiled at the lyric slur that O'Donnell was a Jew and changed that to "a bum". That vaudeville duo also took other liberties with the lyrics, as others have ever since. But you can hardly blame them when the lyrics seem to have been so poorly remembered in the first place.
So sing along as you will and drink whatever you're drinking to the memory of poor Stevie boy, we hardly knew him.
STEVE O'DONNELL'S WAKE.
Copyright. 1889, by Chas. D. Blake & Co.
Words and Music by Frank C. Turner.
Steve O'Donnell was a gentleman, so everybody said.
He was liked by all his friends, both rich and poor.
So of course they all felt sorry when they heard that he was dead,
And they saw a piece of crane hung on his door;
Now undertaker Feeney had the job to lay him out.
He got a casket of the finest make;
And he dressed the corpse in broadcloth, and said: Boys I have no doubt
You will all remember Steve O'Donnell's wake.
Chorus.
There were biters, there were fighters, lots of dynamiters.
There was beer, and there was whiskey, wine and cake;
There were men in high positions, there were Irish politicians.
And they all got drunk at Steve O'Donnell's wake.
A barber came and shaved his Galway sluggers from his throat,
And cut his hair a la la pompadour;
A red necktie and buttonhole bouquet was in his coat,
And a hunch of shamrocks in his hand he bore.
There was thirteen candles at his head and twenty at his side.
And lots of flowers sent for friendship's sake;
Yerra, Steve, my b'ye, why did you die, the weeping widow cried.
Sure, we all felt bad at Steve O'Donnell's wake.-Chorus.
Now Mike McGovern said he thought O'Donnell was a Jew,
Of course, he only meant it for a joke;
But Patsey Mack got up his back and at McGovern flew,
And he hit him in the eye an awful poke.
Sure all hands began a-fighting then, for everyone was mad,
And blood enough was spilled to form a lake:
They knocked the corpse upon the floor and blew out all the lights,
There was murder down at Steve O'Donnell's wake.-Chorus.
The police came in and stopped the row and made them understand,
The corpse was picked up by his brother. Dan;
But someone stole the necktie that was 'round O'Donnells throat,
Tim O'Kelly said McGovern was the man.
Then McGovern's friends got crazy mad and swore they'd have his life,
O'Reilly saw he made a big mistake;
But he fought and yelled, and danced around until the cops came in
And arrested all at Steve O'Donnell's wake.-Chorus.
