From the recording ANIAR
Slieve galleon braes
A great Irish immigration song.This is an instrumental adaptation of the song that I first heard from the singing of Dolores Keane and John Faulkner in the 1970’s.
According to one source, the Sliabh Gallion brae referred to in the song is part of the Sperrin Mountains in Counties Tyrone and Derry, and this song was written by James McGarvey, a Derryman, sometime in the 1800s.
Lyrics
Slieve Gallion Braes
As I went a walking one morning in May
To view your fair valleys and your mountains so gay
I was thinking of your flowers all going to decay
That grow around ye bonny, bonny Slieve Gallon Brae
Oft times have I wandered with my dog and my gun
And travelled your valleys for joy and for fun
But those days are gone forever and I can no longer stray
So farewell unto ye bonny, bonny SlieveGallon Brae
Oft times in the evenings and the sun in the west
I roamed hand in hand with the one I love best
But the dreams of youth have vanished and I am far away
So farewell unto ye bonny, bonny SlieveGallon Brae
It is not the want of employment at home
That caused the poor sons of old Ireland to roam
But the rents are getting higher and I can no longer pay
So farewell unto ye bonny, bonny Slieve Gallon Brae
Farewell to old Erin, a land that is so green
To the Parish of Lissen and the cross of Ballinascreen
May good fortune shine upon you when I am far away
And a long farewell to bonny, bonny Slieve Gallon Brae
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