Spancill Hill

Last night as I lay dreaming of pleasant days gone by

My mind being bent on rambling to Ireland I did fly

I stepped on board a vision and followed with my will

Till next I came to anchor at the cross near Spancill Hill

T'was on the 23rd June the day before the fair

When Ireland's sons and daughters and friends assembled there

The young ,the old, the brave and the bold their duty to fulfill

At the parish church at Cluney just a mile from Spancill Hill

I went to see my neighbors to hear what they might say

The old ones were all dead and gone the young one's turning grey

I met the tailor Quigley, he's bold as ever still

Oh he used to mend my britches when I lived at Spancill Hill

I paid a flying visit to my first and only love

She's fair as any lily and gentle as a dove

She threw her arms around me saying "Johnny I love you still"

Oh she's just a farmer's daughter, but the pride of Spancill Hill

Well we'd raid the ports of England, from Brighton to London Town

And we'd raise our mighty roger, burning buildings to the ground

But at night while in my slumber I'd have visions of her still

Tis a face I'll never see again, and the flower of Spancill Hill

I dreamt I held and kissed her as in the days of yore

Ah Johnny you're only joking as so many times before

The cock he crew in the morning her crew both loud and shrill

And I awoke to greet the hangman, many miles from Spancill Hill