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The Bantry Girl's Lament

Anonymous
Language: English




oh who will plough the fields now
and who will sow the corn
and who will watch the sheep now
and keep them neatly shorn
the stack that’s in the haggard
unthreshed it may remain
since Johnny, lovely Johnny
went to fight the king of Spain

the girls from the Bánogue
in sorrow may retire
the piper and his bellows
may go home and blow the fire
for Johnny, lovely Johnny
is sailing o’er the main
along with other patriots
to fight the king of Spain

ah boys will sorely miss him
when the moneymore comes round
and grieve when their brave captain
is nowhere to be found
the peelers must stand idle
against their will and grain
for the valiant boys who gave them work
now peels the king of Spain

at wakes and hurling matches
your likes we’ll never see
until you return again to us
a stoirin og mo chroi
and won’t you trod the buckeens
who show us much disdain
because our eyes are not so bright
as those you’ll meet in Spain

if cruel fate will not permit
our Johnny to return
this awful loss Bantry girls
will never cease to mourn
we’ll resign ourselves to our sad lot
and die in grief and pain
since Johnny died for Ireland’s plight
in the foreign land of Spain



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