From http://www.christymoore.net/lyrics/sonny.html

Ron Hynes, the author, contacted me recently and informed me that the lyrics to his song are different than the ones Christy sings below. I've added Ron's original lyrics below, too.


G
Sonny lives on a farm, in a wide open space
                         C          G
Take off your shoes, stay out of the race
D
Lay down your head, on a soft river bed
      C                   G          D
Sonny always remembers the words Mama says.
CHORUS
G
Sonny don't go away, I'm here all alone
                      C          G
Your Daddy's a sailor, never comes home,
D
Nights are so long, silence goes on,
    C                        G       D
I'm feeling so tired and not all that strong.

Sonny works on the land, though he's barely a man
There's not much to do but he does what he can
Sits by his window in his room by the stairs
Watching the waves drifting soft on the pier.

CHORUS
Many years have rolled on, Sonny's old and alone
His Daddy the sailor, never came home
Sometimes he wonders what his life might have been
But from the grave Mama still haunts his dreams.
CHORUS

---

Here are the original lyrics to this song:

SONNY'S DREAM
(Ron Hynes) - author's version

Sonny lives on a farm, on a wide open space
Where you take off your sneakers, and give up the race
And you can lay down your head, by the sweet river bed
But Sonny always remembers what it was his mama said

Sonny carries a load but he's barely a man
That ain't all that you do, still he does what he can
And he watches the sea, from a room by the stairs
And the waves keep on rollin', they've done that for years

CHORUS
Oh Sonny don't go away, I am here all alone
And your daddy's a sailor who never comes home
And the nights get so long, and the silence goes on
And I'm feeling so tired, I'm not all that strong.....

And it's a hundred miles to town
Sonny's never been there
And he goes to the highway and stands there and stares
And the mail comes at four
And the mailman is old
Oh.. but he still has his dreams, full of silver and gold....

Sonny's dreams can't be real, they're just stories he's read
They're just stars in his eyes, they're just dreams in his head
And he's hungry inside for the wild world outside
And I know I can't hold him
Though I tried and I tried and I tried........

Ron Hynes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KD7eUfIgCk