Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill

"Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill" is an American folk song first published in 1888 and attributed to Thomas Casey (words) and later Charles Connolly (music). It is listed as number 4401 in the Roud Folk Song Index.[1] The song is a work song, and makes references to the construction of the American railroads in the mid-19th century. The title refers to Irish workers, drilling holes in rock to blast out railroad tunnels. It may mean either to tarry as in delay, or to terrier dogs which dig their quarry out of the ground,[2] or from the French word for an auger, tarière. The song has been recorded by The Chad Mitchell Trio, The Weavers and Makem and Clancy, among many others.

  1. ^ "Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, Roud Number 4401". www.vwml.org. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  2. ^ Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong (1980, 2000) by Norm Cohen, University of Illinois Press, p. 555, ISBN 0-252-06881-5