"The Rock" Lyrics

There's a low rock wall
By the cliffs of Mohàr
Runs from down on the ground
Right up through the sea air
As a child I would climb
To the top of those stairs
And wish on the fog
I was anywhere else

The farms and the valleys
Are ringed with the stones
Of the men who built walls
So's to be more alone
All that's left of them now
Are their fears and their bones
But the rocks they pulled up
Were all I've ever known

The Rock fought my spirit
The Rock fed my anger
The Rock broke my heart
Like the waves of the sea
I tried hard to fight
But it still grew inside me
This island
My Ireland
The Rock is in me

Hard was the ground
In which this child grew
Unforgiving and cold
Was the home that I knew
But knowing the soil
Holds no harbor for you
Makes pulling up roots
That much easier to do

Set sail!
Young pilgrims
Set sail to a new land
Set sail!
Our future
Is out there to find

Now it's been years
Since I've been in that place
And the winds of my life
Have all weathered my face
But it's only with distance
And the coming of grace
That I see in you beauty
I could never replace

The Rock forged my spirit
The Rock was my anchor
The Rock held me fast
Through the storms of my youth
Now you'll never die
'Cause you live on inside me
An oileán seo (This island)
Mo h-Éireann féin (My Ireland)
Li-li-li...