Lament Of The Irish Immigrant

     A             D
I'm sittin' on a stile, Mary
         E                 A
Where we once sat side by side
       A                      F#m
On a bright May morning long ago
      D                  E
When first you were my bride;
     A                             F#m
The corn was springing fresh and green
         D                  E
And the lark sang loud and high
         A               D
And the red was on your lips, Mary
         E                 A
And the love-light in your eyes.


[Verse 2]

      A               D
'Tis but a step down yonder lane
     E                     A
The village church stands near
      A                         F#m
The place where we were wed, Mary
       D                  E
I can see the spire from here
          A                        F#m
But the graveyard lies between, Mary
         D                    E
And my step might break your rest
         A                  D
Where I laid you, darling, down to sleep
        E             A
With a baby on your breast


[Verse 3]

     A           D
I'm very lonely now, Mary
         E                 A
For the poor make no new friends
     A                          F#m
But, oh, they love the better still
     D              E
The few our Father sends!
     A                     F#m
For you were all I had, Mary,
     D               E
My blessing and my pride;
          A               D
And I've nothing left to care for now
       E            A
Since my poor Mary died


[Verse 4]

       A                   D
Yours was the good, brave heart, Mary,
       E               A
That still kept hoping on
           A                       F#m
When the trust in God had left my soul
       D                         E
And my arm's young strength had gone;
           A                    F#m
There was comfort ever on your lip
         D                  E
And the kind look on your brow
        A               D
And I thank you, Mary, for the same
            E              A
Though you cannot hear me now.


[Verse 5]

     A             D
I'm bidding you a long farewell
    E               A
My Mary, kind and true!
          A                  F#m
But I'll not forget you, darling!
        D              E
In the land I'm going to;
      A                             F#m
They say there's bread and work for all
         D                  E
And the sun shines always there
         A              D
But I'll not forget old Ireland
         E              A
Were it fifty times as fair!


[Verse 6]

     A               D
And often in those grand old woods
      E                 A
I'll sit, and shut my eyes;
       A                        F#m
And my heart will wander back again
         D               E
To the place where Mary lies;
           A                       F#m
And I'll think I see that little stile
          D           E
Where we sat side by side:
         A                       D
In the springing corn, and the bright May morn
      E                  A
When first you were my bride.
           A                      D
And the springing corn, and the bright May morn
      E                  A
When first you were my bride.