The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #8569   Message #53717
Posted By: Frank Maher
12-Jan-99 - 05:59 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: The Flower of Sweet Strabane
Subject: Lyr Add: THE FLOWER OF SWEET STRABANE (McNulty)
Here's the one I have from the late 1930s sung by The McNulty Family...

If I were king of Ireland and all things at my will,
I'd roam for recreation, no comforts to find still.
The comforts I would like the best, as you might understand,
Is to win the heart of Martha, the flower of sweet Strabane.

Her cheeks they are a rosy red, her hair a lovely brown,
And o'er her milk-white shoulders, it carelessly hangs down.
She's one of the finest creatures of the whole Meladian clan,
And my heart is captivated by the flower of sweet Strabane.

I wish I had my darling girl, way down in Inishowen,
Or in some lovely valley in the county of Tyrone.
I'd do my whole endeavor; I'd work my newest plan,
To win the heart of Martha, the flower of sweet Strabane.

I've often been to Phoenix Park and in Killarney fair,
I've been to bonny Scotland, down the winding banks of Ayr,
But yet in all my travels, I never met with one
That could compare with Martha, the flower of sweet Strabane.

Adieu unto your Liffy's banks, and all its waters wide.
I'm sailing for America, whatever may betide.
Our boat is bound for Liverpool, right by the Isle of Man,
So farewell, my lovely Martha, the flower of sweet Strabane.

I'm taking this from a very old and scratchy 78 rpm so the words may not be 100% right...

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 9-Feb-03.