A popular song from 1910.
Words by Collin Davis.
Music by Nat. D. Mann.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- On a railroad section there was much objection
To a silent section boss named Andy Finnegan
He never kept them posted
So one day they roasted Finnegan
And ordered him to send reports in
But not a word from Andy
Though the wire was handy
On day the Flyer hit a cow and off the track it went
When it was all over, train conductor Hover
Left the wire to Finnegan, and this is what he sent
Chorus
“Off again, on again, gone again Finnegan”
That was all he told ’em, just enough to hold ’em
Ten were dead the papers read
But not a word of them he said
Brevity’s the soul of wit with Finnegan
- Finnegan was married but he often tarried
With a Mister Barley Corn until he got a “beaut”
His friends begged him to drop it
But he couldn’t stop it
So they had to send him to a Keeley Institute
Now did he write a letter saying he was better?
Oh, no, he never said a word until he left the place
Wired them from Milwaukee, but he wasn’t talky
This is all the message said to then about his case
Chorus
“Off again, on again, gone again Finnegan”
That was all he told ’em, just enough to hold ’em
Where did he get his “tin” again
To buy another still again?
It must have been the “gold” they gave to Finnegan
- Cut another caper, working on a scraper
Twenty stories up he carried mortar in a hod
All at once he stumbled, tripped his toe and tumbled
As he fell it looked as if he’d lost another job
At first he grabbed a rafter, then a second after
Bounding like a rubber ball he fell from floor to floor
“Finnegan is falling”, everyone was calling
Ev’ry time he lost his hold the workmen all would roar
Chorus
“Off again, on again, gone again Finnegan”
Landed on a copper, took an awful flopper
Because he struck an officer on duty
Why they ran him in, it was a sin
The fine was “tin” for Finnegan
Sung here by Fred Feild: