It was 1962 and I was

two years out of school

When I got on board a boat

That was bound for Liverpool

The day we sailed away

I remember it so well

Took a look at the North Wall

And bid a fond farewell



It's a hard thing to leave the land

of your childhood

Touched by the rivers

And kissed by the sea

The places you played

with your childhood companions

To leave dear old Ireland and

Mother Mo Chroi



Though I am going far away

And I may never return here

There is one thing

that I'll keep within me

Deep in my heart a furious devotion

The love of old Ireland and Mother Mo Chroi



On the top of the Pentonville Road

I saw the sun setting

The town laid out before me

Looked beautiful to me

Away from all the sighing

The suffering and the dying

I dreamed of the future

The young and the free



But the years they go by quickly

Now I know I can't remain here

Where each day brings me closer

To that final misery

My kids will never scrape shit round here

And I won't die crying in a pint of beer

I'm going back to Ireland and my Mother Mo Chroi