THE OLD HOUSE (1935) Words and music by (Sir) Frederick O'Connor (1870-1943)

Lonely I wander through scenes of my childhood,
They call back to memory those happy days of yore,
Gone are the old folk, the house stands deserted,
No light in the windows, no welcome at the door.

Here's where the children played games on the heather,
Here's where they sailed their wee boats on the burn,
Where are now? Some are dead, some have wandered,
No more to their home shall those children return.

Lone is the house now and lone is the moorland,
The children are scattered,the old folk are gone,
Why stand I here, like a ghost and a shadow?
"Tis time I were moving, 'tis time I passed on.

As recorded by Sir Thomas Allen on his album "Songs My Father Taught Me".