Willie-o

"Here's a health to all true lovers

And to my own love, where'er she be

This very night I shall be with her

Though many's the mile, love, you are from me

And though the night be as dark as a dungeon

And not a star to be seen above

I'll be guided without a stumble

Into the arms of the one I love"

He stepped up to her bedroom window

And kneeled him low down upon a stone

He whispered quietly through a pane being broken

"My dearest dear, do you lie alone?"

She raised her head from her down soft pillow

And silently she let him in

They kissed, shook hands, and embraced each other

Until the long night was at its end

And when the long night was passed and over

And the grey cock began to crow

This young man rose and put on his clothing

Saying "My dearest dear, now I must go"

"Oh Willie dear, where are those blushes

That you wore so many years ago?"

"My dearest dear, the cold clay has changed them

For I am the ghost of your Willie-o"

"For seven long years I've been constant writing

To the far off Bay of Biscay-o

Till cruel death has brought an answer

With you, the ghost of my Willie-o"

"The Wicklow mountains I must cross over

The wild, wild ocean I will roam

The burning plains I'll cross for pleasure

For I am the ghost of your Willie-o"