[Verse 1]
One day in summer when daylight was fading
Way down by the river, I wandered alone
I met an old man who was weepin' and wailin'
And rocking a cradle that was not his own

[Chorus]
Singing, "Aidal O'boy, sweet baby lie easy
Your own daddy will never be known
Oh it's weeping and wailing and rocking a cradle
For somebody's baby that is not your own"

[Verse 2]
When first I married your innocent mother
I thought like a fool I was blessed with a wife
But to my misfortune and sad lamentation
She proved both a curse and a plague to my life

[Chorus]
Singing, "Aidal O'boy, sweet baby lie easy
Your own daddy will never be known
Oh it's weeping and wailing and rocking a cradle
For somebody's baby that is not your own"

[Verse 3]
'Twas every night to a ball or a party
She left me there rocking the cradle alone
An innocent baby who calls me his daddy
And little he knows that I am not his own
[Chorus]
Singing, "Aidal O'boy, sweet baby lie easy
Your own daddy will never be known
Oh it's weeping and wailing and rocking a cradle
For somebody's baby that is not your own"

[Verse 4]
Now all you young fellows who someday may marry
Take my advice and leave women alone
For by the Lord Harry, if ever you marry
They'll bring you a baby and swear it's your own

[Chorus]
Singing, "Aidal O'boy, sweet baby lie easy
Your own daddy will never be known
Oh it's weeping and wailing and rocking a cradle
For somebody's baby that is not your own"