THE REASON I LEFT MULLINGAR
Written in 1980 for The Furey's, the original arrangement was by Finbar Furey. This song has also been widely recorded by other artists but The Furey's version is considered to be the best. The song is dedicated to the thousands of lrish building workers who left horne to find work in London in the mid 70's, and the homesickness created by the endless cycle of work and drinking.
I walk through this city a stranger
In a land I can never call horne
And I curse the sad notion that caused me
In search of my fortune to roam
I'm weary of work and hard drinking
My weeks wages left in the bar
And God it's a shame, to use a friend's name
To beg for the price of a jar.
CHORUS
I remember that bright April morning
When l Ieft home to travel afar
To work till your dead, for one room and a bed
It's not the reason l Ieft Mullingar.
This London's a city of heartbreak
On Friday there's friends by the score
But when the pay's finished on Monday
A friend's not a friend anymore
For the working day seems never ending
From the shovel and pick there's no break
And when your not working you're spending
The fortune you left horne to make.
CHORUS
And for every man here that finds fortune
And comes horne to tell of the tale
Each morning the Broadway is crowded
With many the thousands who fail
So young men of Ireland take warning
In London you never will find
The gold at the end of the rainbow
For you might just have left it behind.
CHORUS
Copyright Pat Cooksey, all rights reserved.
Published by Banshee Music, Dublin. |
