I agree with Janice that it is overly maudlin, and I also agree with the anonymous guest who calls it a long dirge.

Even hearing it for the 1000th time, it still chokes me up. Maybe a bit of repressed guilt ... we are the diaspora of the diaspora; my sibs are scattered across the U.S. and Canada, and our immediate family is the only one which left the "old country". And I haven't been back there since '84; my knowledge of the words "uncle", "aunt", and even "grandparents" is pretty much vicarious.

And now, as my parents themselves are in their late 70's, every next day they may well be gone, and we see them maybe once a year,

So when I hear the song, I keep saying I'll mend my ways and take more time for family ... and forget these promises promptly until the next time.

Moloney, O'Connell and Keane have one of the definitive versions, of course.

Call it maudlin, if you will, and just wait for the next song ... it'll be along in ten minutes or so. And I'm sure that there's some songs that really touch you that might leave me cold too. NP, there's plenty enough room for all. Overplayed???   Hardly. You want overplayed and maudlin and definitely non-Irish and non-authentic? You'd do better to set your sights on Uncle Shelby's "Unicorn Song" (definitely funny, tho). And go rail against "When Irish Eyes...."

Cheers,