The Bantry Girl's Lament - The Dubliners

Oh, who will plough the fields now

And who will sow the corn

And who will watch the sheep now

And keep them from all harm

And the stack that’s in the haggard

Unthreshed it may remain

Since Johnny, lovely Johnny

Went to fight the king of Spain

Oh, the girls of the Bang

In sorrow may retire

And the piper and his bellows

May go home and blow the fire

Since Johnny, lovely Johnny

Went sailing o’er the main

Along with other patriots

To fight the king of Spain

The boys will sorely miss him

When Moneymore comes round

And grieve that their bould captain

Is nowhere to be found

And the peelers must stand idle

Against their will and grain

Since the valiant boy who gave them work

Now peels the king of Spain

At wakes and hurling matches

Your likes we’ll never see

'Till you come back again to us

Mo storeen g mo chroi

And won’t you trounce the buckeens

Who show us much disdain

Because our eyes are not as bright

As those you meet in Spain

Oh, if cruel fate should not permit

Our Johnny to return

His awful loss we Bantry girls

Will never cease to mourn

We’ll resign ourselves to our sad lot

And die in grief and pain

Since Johnny died for Ireland’s pride

In the sunny land of Spain