It seems like only yesterday
I sailed from out of cork.
A wanderer from erin's isle,
I landed in new york.
There wasn't a soul to greet me there,
A stranger on your shore,
But irish luck was with me here,
And riches came galore.
And now that I'm going back again
To dear old erin's isle,
My friends will meet me on the pier
And greet me with a smile.
Their faces, sure, I've almost forgot,
I've been so long away,
But me mother will introduce them all
And this to me will say:

Shake hands with your uncle mike, me boy,
And here is your sister, kate.
And there's the girl you used to swing
Down by the garden gate.
Shake hands with all of the neighbours,
And kiss the colleens all;
You're as welcome as the flowers in may
To dear old donnegal.

They'll give a party when I go home,
They'll come from near and far.
They'll line the roads for miles and miles
With irish jauntin' cars.
The spirits'll flow and we'll be gay,
We'll fill your hearts with joy.
The piper'll play an irish reel
To greet the yankee boy.
We'll dance and sing the whole night long,
Such fun as never seen.
The lads'll be decked in corduroy,
The colleens wearin' green.
There'll be thousands there that I never saw,
I've been so long away,
But me mother will introduce them all
And this to me will say:

Meet branigan, fannigan, milligan, gilligan,
Duffy, mccuffy, malachy, mahone,
Rafferty, lafferty, donnelly, connelly,
Dooley, o'hooley, muldowney, malone,
Madigan, cadigan, lanihan, flanihan,
Fagan, o'hagan, o'hoolihan, flynn,
Shanihan, manihan, fogarty, hogarty,
Kelly, o'kelly, mcguinness, mcguinn.