Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and sixty
my dear and loving son John
Your good friend the schoolmaster
Pat McNamara`s so good as
To write these words down
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England
The house is so empty and sad
The crop of potatoes is sorely infected
A third to a half of them bad
And your sister Brigid and Patrick O`Donnell
Are going to be married in June
Your mother says not to work on the railroad
And be sure to come on home soon
Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and seventy
my dear and loving son John
Hello to your missus and to your four children
May they grow healthy and strong
Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble
I suppose that he never will learn
Because of the dampness there`s no turf to speak of
And now we have nothing to burn
Brigid is happy you named a child for her
Although she`s got six of her own
You say you found work but you don`t say what kind
Or when you`ll be coming home
Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and eighty
Dear Michael and John my sons
I`m sorry to give you the sad news
That your dear mother has gone
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly
Your brothers and Brigid were there
You don`t have to worry she died very quickly
Remember her in your prayers
And it`s so good to hear that Michael`s returning
With money he`s sure to buy land
For the crop has been poor
and the people are selling
At any price they can
Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and ninety
my dear and loving son John
I suppose that I must be close on eighty
It`s thirty years since you`ve gone
Because of all of the money you sent me
I`m still living out on my own
Michael has build himself a fine house
Ans Brigid`s daughters have grown
And thank you for sending your family picture
They`re lovely young woman and men
You say that you might even come for a visit
What joy to see you again
Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and ninety
to my dear brother John
I`m sorry I didn`t write sooner to tell you
That father passed on
He was living with Brigid she says he was cheerful
And healthy right down to the end
Ah, you should have seen him
playing with the grandchildren
Of Pat McNamara your friend
And we buried him alongside of mother
Down at Kilkelly churchyard
He was a strong and feisty old man
Considering his life was so hard
And it`s funny the way he kept talking about you
He called for you at the end
Oh why don`t you think about coming to visit
We`d love to see you again
my dear and loving son John
Your good friend the schoolmaster
Pat McNamara`s so good as
To write these words down
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England
The house is so empty and sad
The crop of potatoes is sorely infected
A third to a half of them bad
And your sister Brigid and Patrick O`Donnell
Are going to be married in June
Your mother says not to work on the railroad
And be sure to come on home soon
Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and seventy
my dear and loving son John
Hello to your missus and to your four children
May they grow healthy and strong
Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble
I suppose that he never will learn
Because of the dampness there`s no turf to speak of
And now we have nothing to burn
Brigid is happy you named a child for her
Although she`s got six of her own
You say you found work but you don`t say what kind
Or when you`ll be coming home
Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and eighty
Dear Michael and John my sons
I`m sorry to give you the sad news
That your dear mother has gone
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly
Your brothers and Brigid were there
You don`t have to worry she died very quickly
Remember her in your prayers
And it`s so good to hear that Michael`s returning
With money he`s sure to buy land
For the crop has been poor
and the people are selling
At any price they can
Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and ninety
my dear and loving son John
I suppose that I must be close on eighty
It`s thirty years since you`ve gone
Because of all of the money you sent me
I`m still living out on my own
Michael has build himself a fine house
Ans Brigid`s daughters have grown
And thank you for sending your family picture
They`re lovely young woman and men
You say that you might even come for a visit
What joy to see you again
Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and ninety
to my dear brother John
I`m sorry I didn`t write sooner to tell you
That father passed on
He was living with Brigid she says he was cheerful
And healthy right down to the end
Ah, you should have seen him
playing with the grandchildren
Of Pat McNamara your friend
And we buried him alongside of mother
Down at Kilkelly churchyard
He was a strong and feisty old man
Considering his life was so hard
And it`s funny the way he kept talking about you
He called for you at the end
Oh why don`t you think about coming to visit
We`d love to see you again