Kilkelly-The Wild Oats

[ti:Kilkelly] [ar:The Wild Oats] [al:A Few Oats Shy Of A Haggis] [by:] [offset:0] [00:00.00]Kilkelly - The Wild Oats [00:11.55]Kilkelly Ireland 18 and 60 [00:15.81]Dear and loving son John [00:19.96] [00:20.53]Your good friend and schoolmaster [00:22.86]Pat McNamara's so good as to write these words down [00:28.97] [00:29.60]Your brothers have all gone [00:31.90]To find work in England [00:33.97]The house is so empty and sad [00:38.65]The crop of potatoes is sorely infected [00:43.03]A third to a half of them bad [00:47.12] [00:47.71]And your sister [00:48.94]Brigid and Patrick O'Donnell [00:52.24]Are going to get married in June [00:56.36] [00:56.90]Your mother says not to work on the railroad [01:01.32]And be sure to come on home soon [01:07.06] [01:08.89]Kilkelly Ireland 18 and 70 [01:13.18]Dear and loving son John [01:17.07] [01:17.98]Hello to your Mrs. and to your 4 children [01:21.97]May they grow up healthy and strong [01:26.15] [01:27.08]Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble [01:31.18]I suppose he never will learn [01:35.26] [01:35.83]Because of the dampness there's no turf to speak of [01:40.49]And now we have nothing to burn [01:44.50] [01:45.00]And Brigid is happy [01:46.97]You named a child for her [01:49.40]You know she's got six of her own [01:53.45] [01:54.00]You say you found work [01:55.93]But you don't say what kind [01:58.57]When will you be coming home [02:03.75] [02:06.09]Kilkelly Ireland 18 and 80 [02:10.12]Dear Michael and John my sons [02:14.29] [02:14.86]I'm sorry to give you the very sad news [02:19.17]That your dear old mother has gone [02:23.31] [02:23.83]We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly [02:28.25]Your brothers and Brigid were there [02:32.57] [02:33.13]You don't have to worry [02:35.24]She died very quickly [02:37.83]Remember her in your prayers [02:41.64] [02:42.24]And it's so good to hear that Michael's returning [02:46.90]With money he's sure to buy land [02:51.57]For the crop has been poor [02:53.87]And the people are selling [02:56.15]At any price that they can [03:00.34] [03:03.52]Kilkelly Ireland 18 and 90 [03:07.93]My dear and loving son John [03:11.87] [03:12.56]I suppose that I must be close on to eighty [03:17.00]It's 30 years since you've gone [03:20.98] [03:21.52]Because of all the money you've sent me [03:26.24]I'm still living out on my own [03:30.35] [03:31.15]Michael has built himself a fine house [03:35.21]And Brigids daughters have grown [03:39.66] [03:40.19]Thank you for sending your family picture [03:44.46]They're lovely young women and men [03:49.15]You say that you mighteven come for a visit [03:53.76]What joy to see you again [03:59.48] [04:01.38]Kilkelly Ireland 18 and 92 [04:06.18] [04:06.97]My dear brother John [04:09.61] [04:10.46]I'm sorry that I didn't write sooner to tell you [04:15.91]That father passed on [04:18.70] [04:19.45]He was living with Brigid she said he was healthy [04:24.08]And cheerful right down to the end [04:28.12] [04:28.89]You should have seen him playing [04:31.40]With the grandchildren [04:33.37]Of Pat McNamara your friend [04:36.89] [04:38.30]And we buried him alongside of mother [04:42.71]Down at the Kilkelly church yard [04:46.97] [04:47.55]He was a strong and a fiesty old man [04:52.20]Considering his life was so hard [04:55.96] [04:57.13]And it's funny the way he kept [04:59.75]Talking about you [05:01.82]He caled for you at the end [05:05.55] [05:06.76]Why don't you think about [05:09.07]Coming to visit [05:11.35]We'd love to see you again