The song passed from oral tradition to a global mass market with The Dubliners recording of "Seven Drunken Nights".

The record reached number 7 in the UK charts in 1967 and appeared on Top of the Pops, thanks to its diffusion on Radio Caroline.

[citation needed] Different versions of the lyrics exist right from the start of the song though variation increases for the last two nights.

The drunkard's reply to his wife is more similar to the "official" version recorded by The Dubliners and other Irish folk singing groups: Well, there's many times I've travelled, a hundred miles or more, But a saddle on a cow, sure; I've never see before.

On the first night (generally Monday), the narrator sees a strange horse outside the door: His wife tells him it is merely a sow, a gift from her mother: In each verse the narrator notices a flaw in each explanation, but seems content to let the matter rest: The next four nights involve a coat (actually a blanket according to the wife, upon which he notices buttons), a pipe (a tin whistle, filled with tobacco), two boots (flower pots, with laces), and finally, this being the last verse often sung, a head peering out from beneath the covers.

This latter version usually ends day seven with the singer's target of choice in bed, and the husband replies that he's never seen so-and-so with a hard on before.

[10] (or the king of England [11]) The narrator, now wise to what is going on, remarks: "Well, it's many a day I've travelled a hundred miles or more, but an Englishman who can last till three, I've never seen before."

While this departs noticeably from the standard cycle, the twist is slightly more clever, and takes a jab at the English (a popular ploy in some Irish songs).

If sung, the stress on the syllables of "twelve-bore" is reversed to fit the rhythm of the tune, and the obscenity, or otherwise, of the two-syllable adjective describing the culprits's speed varies according to taste.