Oft, oft, I went to her, to sigh and to woo her;
Of mighty fine things did I say a great deal;
Above all the rest, what still pleas'd her the best,
Was, "Och! will you marry me, Shelah O'Neal?"
My point I soon carried, for fast we got married;
The weight o' my bargain I then 'gan to feel;
She scolded and fisted, O then I enlisted,
Left Ireland, and whisky, and Shelah O'Neal.
 
But tir'd and dull-hearted, my corps I deserted,
And fled off to regions far distant from home,
To Frederick's army, where nought was to harm me,
Not the devil himself, in the shape of a bomb.
I fought ev'ry battle, where cannon did rattle,
Felt sharp shot, alas! and their sharp-pointed steel;
But in all the wars round, thank my stars, I ne'er found
Aught so sharp as thy tongue, O curs'd Shelah O'Neal!