1. How pleasant in winter to sit by the hob,
listening to the barks and the howls of the dog,
or in summer to wander the wide valleys through,
and to pluck the wild flowers in the May morning dew.
2. Oh, summer is coming, oh summer is here,
with the leaves on the trees, and the skies blue and
clear,
and the birds they are singing their fond note so true,
and the flowers they are springing in the May morning
dew.
3. Now the house that I lived in is but a stone on a
stone,
and all round the garden the weeds they have grown,
and all the kind neighbours, that ever I knew,
like the red rose they withered in the May morning dew.
4. God be with the old folks, who are now dead and gone,
likewise with my brothers, young Dennis and John,
as they ran through the heather, the wild hare to pursue,
and their joys they were mingled in the May morning dew.