The Banks of the Bann

When first to this country a stranger I came,
I placed my affections on a maid that was young,
She being young and tender, her waist was small and slender,
Kind Nature had formed her for my overthrow.

On the banks of the Bann, where I first beheld her,
She appeared like fair Juno or a Grecian queen,
Her eyes shone like diamonds, her hair softly twining,
Her cheeks were like roses or blood drips in snow.

'Twas her cruel parents that first caused our variance,
All because I was poor of a low degree,
But I'll do my endeavour to gain my love's favour,
Although she is come from a rich family.

My name is Delaney, a name that won't shame me,
And if I had saved money, I'd have plenty in store,
But drinking and courting, night rambling and sporting,
Are the cause of my ruin and absence from home.

Had I all the money that's in the West Indies,
Or had I the gold of the African shore,
I would spend it on pearls and on you my brown girl,
For there's no other love on this earth I adore.

Now since I have gained her I'm contented for life,
I'll put rings on her fingers and gold in her ear.
We'll live on the banks of the lovely Bann river,
And in all sorts of splendour I'll style her my dear.