School Song
Many years ago my daughter used to sing a song she learnt at school, I can only remember some of the words, wonder if you can help?
write a letter now again and send me all you can, but remember where you roam that your'e an irish man,
one day a letter came for me, twas not my mothers hand twas father John ? who wrote to say that she had passed away?
That is as far as I can remember.
A part of it was sung by billy connelly when he was touring Ireland on his bike at the end of the programme before the credits
Thanks very much
Iato!
The song you are looking for is called "Goodbye, Johnny Dear".
If you don't find it under this title I could probably dig out most of the words for you.
Good luck!
John.
Many thanks John!
Here are the words:
Goodbye Johnny dear
Just twenty years ago today, I held my mother's hand
As she kissed and blessed her only son, going to a foreign land
The neighbours took me from her breast and told her I must go
But I could hear my mother's words, tho' they were faint and low
Chorus:
Goodbye, Johnny dear, when you're far away
Don't forget your dear old mother far across the sea
Write a letter now and then and send her all you can
And don't forget where e'er you roam that you're an Irishman
I sailed away from Queenstown, that is the coast of Cork
A very pleasant voyage we had and soon were in New York
My friends came to meet me there and work I got next day
But thro' all this hospitality I could hear my mother say
One day a letter came to me, it came from Ireland
The postmark showed it came from home, it was not my mother's hand
T'was father who had wrote to say that she had passed away
And just as if from Heaven above I could hear my mother say