The Green Field by The Quarry
The big ship sailed out for Australia
‘Twas a cold winter’s day long ago
On board was a young Irish Colleen,
The grief on her features did show;
A priest offered deep consolation,
He spoke of the bright days ahead,
She woke from her sad meditation
And those are the words that she said.
I love the green field by the quarry,
The field where the red clovers grow,
The waterfall sounding above it
And the heather clad mountain below;
That lovely green field by the quarry
Every step of my childhood has known,
The clear crystal spring in the corner
And the little thatched dwelling-my home.
The big ship has sailed o’er the waters,
She is now on Australia’s broad plains,
She thinks of the brave Irish patriots
Who labored as convicts as chains;
She sees the green field by the quarry
In her vision old Ireland appears
And she prays for our gallant forefathers
Who held it through torture and tears.
The years they roll onward forever,
She’s a wife and a mother-what more?
She sings to the child on her bosom
The songs of old Ireland’s green shore.
Her brother has left the old homestead
Setting fears and affections afloat,
She pleads in the letter she’s writing
And those are the words that she wrote:
Don’t sell the green field by the quarry,
It’s the scene of each childhood delight,
‘Twas the vision that haunted my dreaming
On my tear moistened pillow at night.
Don’t sell the green field by the quarry,
No matter where ever I roam
While you own that green field by the quarry
I’ll feel that my heart has a home.
The home of her heart is still calling,
Again she re-visits the scene;
The laughter of children is lovely
And the field by the quarry is green.
Don’t sell the green field by the quarry,
No matter where ever I roam,
While you own that green field by the quarry
I’ll feel that my heart has a home.
This song was composed by Dan Keane, Moyvane, Co Kerry in May 1993 and is based on a true event. The Irish Colleen was his sister Theresa who emigrated to Australia in December 1936 and didn’t return to Ireland again until 1978. The priest referred to was Fr Coughlan who was an uncle of Bryan MacMahon. That green field still belongs to the Keane family who are known as the ‘Keanes of the Quarry.’ It is sung to the melody of Eileen McMahon.
