When First I Came Unto This Country
Jimmy Crowley * Track #7 On The Boys of Fair Hill
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When First I Came Unto This Country by Jimmy Crowley
Performed by
Jimmy CrowleyAbout
Some of the lyrics of the song can be found in a ballad called ‘John Riley’, seen in the book Lore of an Adirondack County. In that version, the singer is the girl’s fiance in disguise, testing if she is still true to him.
When First I Came Unto This Country Lyrics
[Verse 1]
When first I came unto this country
It was to view the sweet flowers gay
I then fell courting a pretty female
She appeared to me like the Queen Mab
[Verse 2]
I asked her kindly would she marry
Or would she choose to be a sailors bride
Oh no kind sir, I'd rather tary
And I would choose a sweet single life
[Verse 3]
Oh fairest creature, the pride of nature
How come you differ from all female kind?
For you are youthful, both fair and handsome
To marry you, I am most inclined
[Verse 4]
No kind sir, since I must tell you
I am promisеd these five yеars or more
To Will O'Reilly from the county Leitrim
Which often greet my poor heart from sorr'
[Verse 5]
I wish I had you in Fina Tampa
A hundred miles from your bed home
Or in some valley where none may find you
It's there with you I'd be content to roam
[Verse 6]
For its there I would caress my jewel
If along with me she'd consent to go
I'd sail you over to Pennsylvania
And bid adieu to O'Reilly forevermore