I've come from Laugh-an-Half-Daft and half o'er the Welsh mountains Where the leeks and the violets and the nanny-goats dwell. I've come here in search of a lovely young maiden And where she has gone to I'm sure I can't tell.
She's the pride of her gender, her waist small and slender, Her hair is magenta and she squints with one eye. She talks like a parson, she sings like a nightingale, And if I don't find her I'm sure I will die.
Chorus (i.e. the next four lines)
So, I'll weep and I'll wander o'rer hills and o'er mountains In search of my Jinny - O, where can she be? I'll weep and I'll wander o'rer hills and o'er mountains In search of my Jinny - O, where can she be?
Her home and her family are highly respected, Her mother milks cows on a three-legged stool. Her father's a farmer, her aunt is a lady, Her uncle's a rogue and her brother's a fool.
I courted sweet Jenny, I told her I loved her, We were to be married upon a May morn, But there came a young soldier from the Royal Artillery And on the next morning my Jenny was gone.
Chorus
O, say have you seen her? To you I'll describe her: She wears a red petticoat and a hat on her head, She moves when she's walking, she speaks when she's talking, Her handkerchief's lettered O, P, X, Y, Z.
I searched through the mountains, I searched the valleys, I climbed Carrauntoohill, I looked up in the air, I searched holes and corners, I read through the papers, I looked up the chimney, but found her nowhere.
So, farewell to you Jenny, you've gone with your soldier, I never will find you wherever you be. No more will I wander o'er hills and o'er mountains, Farewell to you Jenny wherever you be.