Oh tell me, will I ever win to Ireland again, Astore! from the far North-West? Have we given all the rainbows, an’ the green woods an’ rain, For the suns and the snows o’ the West? “Them that goes to Ireland must thravel night an’ day, An’ them that goes to Ireland must sail across the say, For the len’th of here to Ireland is half the world away – An’ you’ll leave your heart behind you in the West. Set your face for Ireland, Kiss your friends in Ireland, But lave your heart behind you in the West.” On a dim an’ shiny mornin’ the ship she comes to land, Early, oh, early in the mornin’, The silver wathers o’ the Foyle go slidin’ to the strand, Whisperin’ “Ye’re welcome in the mornin’.” There’s darkness on the holy hills I know are close aroun’, But the stars are shinin’ up the sky, the stars are shinin’ down, They make a golden cross above, they make a golden crown, An’ meself could tell you why, - in the mornin’, Sure an’ this is Ireland, Thank God for Ireland! I’m coming back to Ireland the morning’.
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Authorship:
- by Agnes Shakespeare Higginson (1864 - 1955), as Moira O'Neill [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir (1852 - 1924), "Back to Ireland", op. 77 no. 6, published 1901 [ low voice and piano ], from An Irish Idyll in Six Miniatures, no. 6, London, Boosey & Co. [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Mike Pearson
This text was added to the website: 2016-07-10
Line count: 22
Word count: 195