Words and Music by Judy Collins
The Wildflowers Company (ASCAP)
There’s a new moon over the Hudson
And the stars are shining bright
And I think about my true love in Ireland tonight
He’ll walk in purple heather
Up the hills and on to home
And I wonder how I ever came to roam
Central Park at midnight
In a carriage in the snow
I dream I am in Innisfree
Where the emerald shamrocks grow
I’m leaving in the morning
I’ll sing the old sweet songs
And I’ll never leave till all is said and done
There are seas that lie between us
There are rivers to be crossed
But I never have forgot the way he smiled
There are hearts that have been broken
And the dream was all but lost
But the songs of Ireland always made me wild
My father’s father’s fathers,
Sailed from Ireland’s shore
They played the drums in Lexington
And they fought the Civil War
They died to save the Union
They lived to see me born
And in their dreams they saw the Irish Moor
There were seas that rolled beneath them
There were rivers to be crossed
But they never did forget the Irish songs
There were vows that had been broken
And the promise almost lost
But in their hearts they knew where they belonged
It's a long way from New York City
To the shores of County Cork
And the ships that brought us over here
Were made of dreams and smoke
I will return to Ireland
I’ll sing the old sweet songs
And I’ll walk in purple heather
I’ll dance in purple heather,
I'll sing in heather
Till the Irish dawn