Living
Smith's Song
Translated by George Sigerson (1907) · From Bards of the Gael and Gall (1907)
Ding dong didero,
Blow big bellows,
Ding dong didero,
Black coal yellows,
Ding dong didero,
Blue steel mellows
Ding dong didero,
Strike! — good fellows.
Up with the hammers,
Down with the sledges,
Hark to the clamours,
Pound now the edges,
Work it and watch it,
Round, flat, or square O,
Spade, hook, or hatchet —
Sword for a hero.
Ding dong didero,
Ding dong didero,
Spade for a labourer,
Sword for a hero,
Hammer it, stout smith,
Rightly, lightly,
Hammer it, hammer it,
Hammer at it brightly.
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Irish Gaelic, later). “Smith's Song.” Translated by George Sigerson. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-irish-gaelic/139/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Irish Gaelic, later). “Smith's Song.” Translated by George Sigerson. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-irish-gaelic/139/.
Read this poem with the Codex →