Too Long To Go Home Jim Ryan, 2013
Takes some of us lads, too long to go home
Get busy with life, build houses of stone
A year or a hundred, generations slipped on
You’ll always remember what’s bred in the bone
In the Vale of Avoca, my own soul was born
Learned refinement and style in Waterford town
Lift a pint, honour Dublin, adventure in Cork
Though I’ve often lived elsewhere, this land leaves its mark
Spread my ashes with love, all over the south
Mark the path of old footsteps, ring out the truth
Prayers rise, like soft church bells, float on the mist
Like the last rose of summer, true love’s first kiss
Spread my ashes with love, all over the south
From Wicklow through Wexford and on to my home
Mark the Limerick plot where my family lies free
Of the trials and troubles caused so many to leave
More kindred the poets, gave words to our dreams
Power to music, saw the richness of green
Landscapes and rebirth and promise to keep
Tales from Tipperary that lead straight to me
© Jim Ryan, Guilty Man’s Music 2014 SOCAN