The song actually has a few more verses and is (in that every verse, including the last one, ends 'begin again!'), a
song that never ends, a property it shares with such classics as '
Where Have all the Flowers Gone?', '
There's a Hole in my Bucket' and, of course, '
The Song That Never Ends'. In the version I know 'Michael Finnigan' is used throughout, rather than 'Old Mike Finnigan', and I prefer the way it sounds and have therefore used it here. Obviously, the last words of each line should be
pronounced in a run-together manner to rhyme with 'Finnigan' - so 'beginigan' rather than 'begin again' and so on.
There was an
old man named Michael Finnigan
He grew
whiskers on his
chinnigan
The
wind came out and blew them in again
Poor old Michael Finnigan, begin again.
There was an old man named Michael Finnigan
He kicked up an awful
dinigan
Because they said he must not
sing again
Poor old Michael Finnigan, begin again.
There was an old man named Michael Finnigan
He went
fishing with a
pinigan
Caught a
whale and threw him in again
Poor old Michael Finnigan, begin again.
There was an old man named Michael Finnigan
Climbed a
tree and
barked his
shinigan
Took off
yards and yards of
skinigan
Poor old Michael Finnigan, begin again.
There was an old man named Michael Finnigan
He grew
fat and then grew
thin again
Then he died and had to
begin again
Poor old Michael Finnigan, begin again.