Traditional
Banks o’ the Lee
[Verse 1]
Where true lovers meet out beneath the green bower
Where true lovers meet out beneath the green tree
And it’s Johnny, darling Johnny
He says unto his true love
"You have stolen my young heart by the banks o’ the Lee."
[Chorus]
For I love him very dearly, most truly and sincerely
There is no one in this wide world I loved more than he
Every bush, and every bower, every wild Irish flower
Reminds me of my true love, by the banks o’ the Lee
[Verse 2]
"Don't stay out too late, love
On the moorlands, by night, love
Don't stay out too late, love
On the moorlands for me."
But little was my notion as we parted by the ocean
That we were forever parted by the banks of the Lee
[Chorus]
For I love him very dearly, most truly and sincerely
There is no one in this wide world I loved more than he
Every bush, and every bower, every wild Irish flower
Reminds me of my true love, by the banks o’ the Lee
[Verse 3]
I will pull my love some roses, some wild Irish roses
I will pull my love some roses, the fairest that ever grew
And I'll lay them o’er the graveside
Of my own dear darling Johnny
On that cold and silent grave where he sleeps 'neath the dew
[Chorus]
For I love him very dearly, most truly and sincerely
There is no one in this wide world I loved more than he
Every bush, and every bower, every wild Irish flower
Reminds me of my true love, by the banks o’ the Lee