From the recording The Banks of the Roses
Lyrics
On the banks of the Roses me love and I sat down
And I took out me fiddle for to play me love a tune
In the middle of the tune oh she sighed and she said
Ar ah Johnny lovely Johnny don’t you leave me
When I was a young man I heard my father say
That he’s rather see me dead and buried in the clay
Sooner than be married to any runaway
By the lovely sweet banks of the Roses
Then I am no runaway and soon I’ll let them know
That I can take the bottle or can leave it alone
If her Daddy doesn’t like it, he can keep his daughter at home
And young Johnny will go rovin’ with another
And when I get married t’will be in the month of May
When the leaves they are green and the meadows they are gay
And me and my true love we’ll sit and sport and play
By the lovely sweet banks of the Roses