The latest in our survey of “banks” songs performed by Lisa Butler and Caladh Nua.
The Banks Of The Lee
Don’t stay out too late, love
On the moorlands, my Mary
Don’t stay out too late, love
On the moorlands for me
But it’s little was my notion
When we parted by the ocean
That we were forever parting
By the Banks of the Lee
For I loved her very dearly
Most truely and sincerely
There is no one in this wide world
I loved more than she
Every bush and every bower
Every wild Irish flower
Reminds me of my Mary
On the Banks of the Lee
I will pluck her some roses
Some blooming Irish roses
I will pluck her some roses
The fairest that grew
And I’ll lay them on the graveside
Of my own dear darling Mary
In that cold and silent church yard
Where she sleeps ‘neath the dew
Song of the Isles 