I said goodbye to my true love,
As he marched off to fight the war.
I knew what he was made of,
And what he was fighting for.
They put him on a tall ship,
And he sailed across the sea.
With pistol and sword on his hip,
And his memory of me.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a strong man.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a brave man.
Ciarán Caomhánach was my man.
And I loved him so.
His hair was full, the color of red,
His eyes shone the ocean’s blue.
His family name was held in good stead,
All called him friend that he knew.
I met him back in the days of my youth,
I never saw a finer man.
His heart was filled with love and truth,
When he asked me for my hand.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a tall man.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a pure man.
Ciarán Caomhánach was my man.
And I loved him so.
He would not fight without reason,
But reasons are easy to find.
A foolish man’s for teasin’,
A man who will treat him unkind.
He had a terrible temper,
An anger that got in his head.
Many’s a man who would whimper,
And many’s a man who lies dead.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a young man.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a fierce man.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a my man.
And I loved him so.
They say he killed a dishonest man,
And he raged as he watched him die.
None who were there dared to lift a hand
And they killed him too, says I.
I said goodbye to my true love,
As he marched off to pay for his crime.
He knew what he was guilty of,
And I’ve lost the one who was mine.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a good man.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a doomed man.
Ciarán Caomhánach was a hanged man.
And I miss him so.
©2011 James Montgomery
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