The Galway Shawl

In Oranmore, the county Galway
One pleasant evening in the month of May
I spied a cutting, was rare and handsome
And her beauty fairly took my breath away

She kept on talking, we kept on walking
'Til her father's cottage, it came in to view
She said, "Come in sir, and meet me father
And play to please him, The Foggy Dew"

She sat me down there beside the tarfire
I could see her father, he was six feet tall
And her mother soon had the kettle boiling
But all I could think about was the Galway shawl

She wore no jewels, nor costly diamonds
No paint nor powder, none at all
She wore a bonnet with ribbon on it
And around her shoulders, the Galway shawl

I played, 'The Black Bird', 'The Stack of Barley'
'Rodney's Glory' and 'The Foggy Dew'
She sang each note like an Irish linnet
As her tears they fell from her eyes, so true

It was early, early, all in the morning
I hit the road of sweet Donegal
I smiled and thanked her, she cried and kissed me
And my heart remained with the Galway shawl

She wore no jewels, nor costly diamonds
No paint nor powder, none at all
But she wore a bonnet with ribbon on it
And around her shoulders was the Galway shawl
And around her shoulders, the Galway shawl