Dan Brown's Wagon
All along the lazy Laggan
'Tis a sign of summer bright:
Dan Brown's crimson ice-cream Waggon
And his snowy coat of white.
You will hear his bell a-tinkle
Or you'll see him roll along-
With his blue eyes now a-twinkle
'Mid the merry, waiting throng.
His first stop at Lynch's-
Here the ladies crowd around:
Only threepence for a wafer!
Ach, it's surely value sound.
Then he cycles through the village
Like a king upon his throne:
And there's one thing very certain
That he will not ride alone.
For the halldoors are now opening -
Empty dinner-plates appear:
"Hi, Dan! Half-a-dozen wafers"-
Much more cool than ic'd beer.
Onward onward - to the corner
Where "the gentry" congregate:
Cream to cool down Derry strangers
Who have found themselves a train-late.
Then 'tis up the street to Barney's
Where you will always find a crowd:
Soon the lads are all a sucking-
And not one is talking loud.
There is still some icy scrapings
For the sleepy Also Rans:
So the Last Post here is sounded
On the steps outside McCann's
'Tis a sign of summer bright:
Dan Brown's crimson Ice-Cream Waggon
And his snowy coat of white.
Oh, Whene'er there is a wedding
Or a meeting in the town,
You will see this crimson waggon
And the genial Daniel Brown.
From St Johnston to the Border
When the noonday sun's agleam
There is nothing for the thirsty
Like Dan Brown's home made ice cream.
All along the lazy Laggan
'Tis a sign of summer bright:
Dan's Brown's crimson ice-cream Waggon
And his snowy coat of white.
Dominic O' Kelly, St Johnston, 24 July 1944
Published St Johnston and Carrigans Family Resource Centre Newsletter, October 2011