CARROWCLAREOn a fine summer's evening as my walks I did pursue
The flowers were blooming fresh and fair, they had a verdant hue.
And as Luna spread her golden rays disclosing many's a scene
I overheard that youthful pair conversing on the green.
As the skylark dropped here evening notes, left Nature quiet and still
For to hear their conversation I was forced to use my skill.
By the corncrake loudly calling they my footsteps did not hear
And the hawthorn proved my trusty friend and to them I drew near.
Till at length he broke the silence and unto her did say
- It's I'm about to sail away to far Columbia's shore
On board of that great ship called Britannia and strange lands I will explore.
When she heard of his departure she her arms around him threw
And the falling tears that bedimmed her eyes, they wet her locks like dew.
- For it's when you reach Columbia's shore some pretty girls you'll find
Dressed in their country's fashion, you'll soon bear me from your mind
-Oh, no,no, my dear, where'er I roam in distant lands to toil
I will ne'er forget the days we spent when sailing in Lough Foyle
Oh, no, no, my dear where'er I roam a stranger's fate to share
I will ne'er forget the nights I spent with you around Carrowclare.
Then he clasped her to his bosom, while the tears did gently flow
He says, - We will get married, love, and that before I go.
For it's if I were to leave you here and go across the foam
What pleasure would there be for me if I left you at home.
Then she gave consent to marry then, her young heart kind and true
They joined their hands in wedlock bands, what more could fond lovers do.
And from Derry quay they sailed away on breezes fresh and fair.
And now we are in America, far far from Carrowclare.
This version is that sung by Eddie Butcher on the European Ethnic Studies cassette 'Shamrock, Rose, and Thistle' and appears in the book of the same name by Hugh Shields the collector. It appears that the song was written by Jimmy McCurry, a blind fiddler who lived in Carrowclare on the banks of Lough Foyle, but in his version the lovers parted - an ending that Eddie Butcher didn't like so he added the final eight lines in which the lovers get married and emigrate together, There's also a version in Sam Henry's 'Songs of the People' pp 298-299