My Lovely Irish Rose

A winding river ends its course,
Near to an irish home,
To mingle with Trabregga Bay,
Where rolls the Atlantic foam;
'Twas in a spot near to a cove behind,
Where the river gently flows,
That I bade goodbye to my little girl,
My lovely Irish Rose.

Stranger lands are fair to see,
And strangers,too, are kind,
But still there's none as dear to me,
As those I leave behind;
As we sailed away from Derry Quay,
At the evening's close,
I wave my hand to the dear old land,
And my lovely Irish Rose.

Old Donegal, the best of all,
I never shall forget,
In carn, fair beyond compare,
I think I see it yet;
But I'd rather stray by the old millbrae,
Where soft the green grass grows,
On a summer's night with hearts delight,
My lovely Irish Rose.

Oh, Mary dear, I'm lonesome here,
Without you all the while,
I miss your loving words of cheer,
Your lovely Irish smile;
Before I lay me down tonight,
Before my eyes I close,
I pray that God may guide you right,
My lovely Irish Rose.

####.... Author unknown. Variant of an Irish traditional recorded by Harry Hibbs (1942-1989) on the album, More At The Caribou Club, available on Audio CD AGEK-2356, released in 2005 by Unidisc Music, Inc ....####

See more Harry Hibbs songs.

A variant was collected in 1955 by Helen Creighton (1899-1989) from Fred and Finvola Redden of Middle Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia