As down the glen came McAlpine's men
With their shovels slung behind them
'Cause in the pub they drank the sub
And out in the spite you will find them
They sweated blood, they washed down mud
With pints and quarts of beer
And now we're on the road again
With McAlpine's Fusiliers
I stripped to the skin with the darkie Finn
Way down on the Isle of Grain
When the Horseface tool, I knew the rule
No money if you stop for rain
McAlpine's God is a well-filled hod
Your shoulders cut to bits and seared
And woe to he went to look for tea
For McAlpine's Fusiliers
I remember the day that the mayor O'Shea
Fell into a concrete stairs
What the Horseface said when he saw him dead
It wasn't what the rich call prayers
"Have you now me short?" was the one retort
That reached unto my ears
When the going is rough, aye you must be tough
For McAlpine's Fusiliers
I worked till the sweat, it had me bet
With the Russian, Czech and Pole
On shuttering jams, the hydro dams
Or underneath the Thames in a hole
I drafted hard and I got my cards
And many a ganger's fist across my ears
If you pride your life, don't join by Christ
McAlpine's Fusiliers
If you pride your life, don't join by Christ
McAlpine's Fusiliers
With McAlpine's Fusiliers
