Lyrics

the lark in the morning she rises off her nest
she goes up in the air with the dew all on her breast
like a jolly plowboy she whistles and she sings
she goes homeward in the evening with the dew all on her wing

Roger the plowboy he is a dashing blade
he goes whistling and singing through the yonder green glade
he met with dark-eyed Susan she’s handsome I declare
and far more enticing than the birds all in the air

chorus

as we were returning from a wake all in the town
the meadows been all mown and the grass had been cut down
I think she chanced to stumble all in the new-mown hay
it’s ‘kiss me now or never’ this bonny lass did say

chorus

when twenty long weeks they were over and past
this bonny little lass began to thicken ’round the waist
‘I think it was the plowboy’ this young lass then did say
‘when he caused me to tumble all in the new-mown hay’

chorus

come all you fair maidens and a warning take from me
never let a bonny lad an inch above your knee
with a pint of good strong porter he’ll whistle and he’ll sing
and the plowboy is as happy as a prince or a king

chorus

when I was young and at my fathers knee
I’d ask about things that were curious to me
like why when I’m happy do I want to fly
why do I love the wild wind in the sky
what is this way that a tune makes me feel
how do I know the fairies are real
he’d answer me in his quiet way
because you’re the Irishman’s daughter
because you’re the Irishman’s daughter

though he never went there he knew the place
he’d recite the town names with a smile on his face
Galway and Derry, Clonmell, Skibereen
he’d a love for a country he’d never seen
sometimes with a pint in the old Irish hall
the song Danny Boy was his clarion call
and he’d wink at me with a tear in his eye
because I’m the Irishman’s daughter
because I’m the Irishman’s daughter

and when the cruel years took him away
spun into light at the breaking of day
he left no money no house no land
a maverick alone taking a stand
but the gifts that he gave us are steady and strong
in the stories we tell and our way with a song
of that I am proud and I always will be
because I’m the Irishman’s daughter
because I’m the Irishman’s daughter

when first we came to Drogheda down by the Irish Sea
I felt something strong and familiar a forgotten memory like a song I’ve sung forever like whiskey in the tea the heart always finds the way back home
we stood upon the battlements and watched the town below 
where my mother’s mother’s people lived so many years ago
before the great hunger came and they were forced to go 
the heart always finds the way
wherever I may wander wherever I may be
Ireland will always be a part of me
then on we went to Cavan town through hills with walls of stone
where a rain that smelled like peat fire smoke soaked us to the bone
and everywhere was our fathers name spelled just like our own 
the heart always finds the way back home
and one night at the Widow’s Pub along the Sligo Road
there was Martin on the accordion while the fiddler swayed and bowed 
the tunes were sweet, Katie danced and the drink oh, how it flowed 
the heart always finds the way
wherever I may wander
whereve I may be Ireland will always be a part of me
from Dublin up to Belfast from Cork to Donegal
they sailed away from the land they loved to whatever might befall 
so here’s a glass to the past that lives on within us all 
the heart alway finds the way

wherever I may wander
wherever I may be Ireland will always be a part of me
Ireland will always be a part of me