When I was a young man I hadn't a penny.
"Oh, when shall we marry?" my Molly would say.
But I was a wise man and said to my darling:
"Love that is true love will not fade away".
Chorus:
Oh, the youth of the heart
And the dew in the morning.
You wake, and they've left you
Without any warning.
I went to America looking for money.
I worked all the day and I slept all alone.
And the sweet silver dollars I saved for my darling
To clothe her in satin and make her my own.
Chorus:
I came back to Ireland, my pockets a-jingle,
And the wedding bells rang as I came down the street.
"Oh, where is the colleen I've come back to marry?"
I asked the first neighbour I happened to meet.
Chorus:
"Your love has grown weary of keeping her kisses,
And of learning a song that will never be sung.
This morning your Molly has married another,
A penniless man with a heart that is young".
Chorus:
So, all you young lovers all ready to marry,
Remember my story and mind what I say.
For I was a wise man, and now I am sorry,
For the wisdom of winter is madness in May.
Chorus:
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