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The Bantry Girls Lament 
The Bantry Girls Lament 
1 * * 57 
Who will plow the field now, and who will sow the corn 
1 * * 57 
Who will wash the sheep now, and keep them neatly shorn 4 1 * 57 The stack that's in the haggard, un-touched it may re-main 1 * 4 57 1 Since Johnny went a-thrashing all in the wars of Spain 
CHORUS: 
4 * 1 * 
Johnny, lovely Johnny, he's sailing o'er the main 1 * 4 57 1 
A-long with other patriots, to fight the King of Spain 
And the girls from the bawn-oag in sorrow may re-tire The piper and his bellows, (may) go home and blow the fire At fairs and hurling matches, your likes we seldom see Till you come home a-gain to us, a-storeen oag mo cree 
And a cruel fate will not permit our Johnny to re-turn His heavy loss, we Bantry girls will never cease to mourn We re-sign ourselves to our sad lot, and die in grief and pain Johnny died for freedom's sake in the foreign lands of Spain 
NOTES: 
-Gaelic phrases are spelled phonetically 
-Haggard: a threshing yard 
-Ba/no/g: a green patch of ground (Ireland?) 
-Mi/an fhomhair: harvest month 
-Asto/iri/n o/g mo chroi: little young treasure of my heart 
Recorded by The Clancy Brothers, Tunes & Tales (Folk Era, FE-2061, 1988) BMcC oct96