By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young girl callin':
'Michael, they have taken you away
For you stole Trevelyn's corn
So the young might see the morn
As a prison ship lies waiting in the bay'
Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry
By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young man calling:
'Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free
Against the famine and the Crown
I rebelled, they cut me down
Now you must raise our child with dignity'
By a lonely harbor wall
She watched the last star fallin'
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky
For she lives to hope and pray
For her love in Botany Bay
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry