"Sweet Ireland" Lyrics

Sweet Ireland
© 2001, Kate Mesmer & D. A. Shea

When I was a young child, and I could not sleep
My mother told stories of wild Irish seas
Of writers and poets whose words still endure
She told me the stories her mother told her

She'd say you are the daughter of ancestors strong
Who came from and island of verses and song
But the crop in their field was a harvest of stone
So they left sweet Ireland

Chorus:
So rest my young child I'll rock you to sleep
I'll sing of green valleys and oceans so deep
When you are frightened, I'll hold your hand
And we'll dream of sweet Ireland

Brothers and sisters left far behind
Half of them hungry, the other half pined
For the soft rolling hills and the clear morning light
Back home in sweet Ireland

Chorus

Now we're all in exile from houses and lands
From families who can't or won't understand
A heart like a country divided can't stand
We are all Ireland

So rest my young child, hold your dreams tight
Short is this lifetime, long is the night
May your hear stay open
May you someday find
Your sweet Ireland
Your own Ireland
One sweet Ireland