It's on a Clancy Brothers CD "Live with Robby O'Connel" or somesuch. The song is called "Dear Boss." Dear Boss I write this note to you to tell you of my plight And at the time of writing I am not a pretty sight Me body is all black and blue and me face a deadly gray And I hope you'll understand why Paddy's not at work today I was workin' on the 14th floor; some bricks I had to clear And throwin' 'em down from such a height was not a good idea The foreman wasn't very pleased, he bein' an awful sod And he said I'd have to take them down the ladder in me hod Now shiftin' all those bricks by hand it seemed so awful slow So I hoisted up a barrel and secured a rope below But in my haste to do the job I was too blind to see That a barrel full of buildin' bricks was heaveier than me Now when I came down I cut the rope and the barrel fell like lead And clinging tightly to the rope I started up instead I shot up like a rocket and to my dismay I found That halfways up I met the bloody barrel comin' down Now the barrel broke me shoulder as to the ground it sped And when I reached the top I struck the pulley with me head I still clung on though numbed and shocked from this almighty blow And the barrel spilled out half the bricks 14 floors below Now when the bricks had fallen from the barrel to the floor I then outweighed the barrel and I started down once more Still clinging tightly to the rope I headed for the ground And I fell among the broken bricks that were all scatter'd 'round As I lay there moaning on the floor sure I thought I'd passed the worst Then the barrel struck the pulley wheel and didn't the bottom burst A shower of bricks came down on me sure I haven't got a hope And as I was losing consciousness... I let go the bloody rope Now the barrel it being heavier it started down once more And it landed right across me as I lay there on the floor I broke three ribs and my left arm and I can only say That I hope you'll understand why Paddy's not at work today
