At the foot of the mountain stands a high, high tree Its branches reach up to the sky And a red-crested bird leaves her nest in the lee And from the tallest branch she cries...
"Oh, wild wind, won't you blow? And carry me to my love, I know not where to go; I'll spread my wings, On your windy back I'll ride. Oh, old wise wind won't you blow?"
On the banks by the bay where the mossy mussels lay And the castle on the hill meets the sky, There a red-haired girl fetches dinner from the sea And walking out the jetty rocks, she cries...
Chorus
On the road by the wood, there a simple cottage lies Of thatch and painted windows, inviting me to bide And the ould widow man within it with his pipe and twinkling eye While stoking up the embers there, he cries...
Chorus
Oh, the cattle with their shepherd and the fishes in the deep They have no cause for sorrow, no love will trouble thee If I could be a blackbird in the tallest oaken tree There from it's tallest branch, I'd cry...