The Girl I Left Behind Me
Traditional:
courtesy of www.SailorSongs.com
The dames of France are fond and free and Flemish lips are willing
And soft the maids of Italy And Spanish eyes are thrilling
Still, though I bask beneath their smile Their charms fail to bind me
And my heart goes back to Erin's Isle To the girl I left behind me
For she's as fair as Shannon's side And purer than its water
But she refused to be my bride Though many years I sought her
Yet, since to France I sailed away Her letters oft remind me
That I promised never to gainsay The girl I left behind me
She says: "My own dear love come home My friends are rich and many
Or else, abroad with you I'll roam A soldier stout as any
If you'll not come, nor let me go I'll think you have resigned me
My heart nigh broke when I answered "No,"To the girl I left behind me
For never shall my true love brave A life of war and toiling
And never as a skulking slave I'll tread my native soil on
But were it free or to be free The battle's close would find me
To Ireland bound, nor message need From the girl I left behind me
The author of this website has put a lot of time and effort into gathering the greatest collection of sea shanties for the world to enjoy - There are songs that have been to sung to a job of work at sea for many, many years and collecting them has been a great endeavour. - Roger Chartier has made the effort out of his own interest and the requests that he has gotten to do this work from fellow musicians who wanted a good source of sea shanties to draw on and learn from. He has been told that for this effort he is a remarkable man.
