-
Title
-
Farewell to Erin
-
Singer
-
Unknown
-
Song Lyrics
-
Verse 1
O Erin, sad Erin, it grieves me to ponder,
The wrongs of thy much injured isle,
Thy sons, many thousands, deploring do wander,
On shores far away in exile;
But give me the power to cross o'er the main,
America may yield ,e some shelter from pain,
I'm only lamenting, while I here remain,
For the joys I shall never see more.
Verse 2
Oft in wonder I gazed on that lofty high mountain,
As in grandeur it rose from its lord,
With sorrow I beheld my own garden yielding,
Its burden of fruits for his board.
O where is my father's low cottage of clay,
Where I've spent many a long happy day?
'Alas! Has his lordship continued it away?
Yes, 'tis gone - I shall see it no more.'
Verse 3
When the sloe and the berry hung ripe on the bushes,
I've gathered them off without harm,
And I've gone to the fields where I've shorn the green rushes,
Preparing for winter's cold harm.
I have sat by the fire on a cold winter's night,
Along with my friends, telling tales of delight;
Those days gave me pleasure, and I could invite
But they're gone - I shall ne'er see them more.
Verse 4
Farewell then to Erin, and to those I left weeping
Upon thy disconsolate shore.
Farewell to the grave where my father lies sleeping,
That ground I still dearly adore.
Farewell to each pleasure - I once had a home,
Farewell! Now a stranger in England I roam,
O give me my freedom or give me my tomb!
Yes, 'tis pity I ask - I ask for no more.
