The Wild Rover Lyrics

I've been a wild rover for many's the year

And I've squandered my money on whiskey and beer

But the songs that I sang and the nights that I knew

Left a hole in my heart I could never undo

For the laughter would fade with the coming of dawn

And the faces I met were soon dead and gone

Now I'm weary and broken my wandering's through

I'll return to the home where love's ever true

No nay never! No nay never no more

Will I play the wild rover no never no more

I'll mend all my ways and knock on their door

To the ones I abandoned I'll wander no more

I recall my dear mother her tears and her pleas

As I set off to roam 'cross the wild open seas

She begged me to stay but I turned her away

And I left for the taverns to squander my days

But the gold in my pocket ran dry like the rain

And the drink brought me nothing but sorrow and pain

Now her voice haunts my dreams and it calls me back still

To the warm hearth of home on the green Irish hill

No nay never! No nay never no more

Will I play the wild rover no never no more

I'll mend all my ways and knock on their door

To the ones I abandoned I'll wander no more

Oh the lights of the city they once drew me near

But they vanished like shadows and left only fear

Now I long for the laughter the love I forsook

And the peace of the fields and the babbling brook

So I'll stand at the gate though my hands are worn thin

And I'll pray they will welcome a lost son back in

For no gold could compare to the love that they gave

And no drink could replace what I'd give now to save

If they take me once more I'll no longer stray

I'll cherish my kin till my dying day

For the wild rover's life is a cold empty game

And I've traded it all for a family's name

No nay never! No nay never no more

Will I play the wild rover no never no more

I'll mend all my ways and knock on their door

To the ones I abandoned I'll wander no more

So raise up your glasses but heed what I say

The wild rover's path only leads you astray

Find your peace where the heart is with those you adore

And swear to be faithful to wander no more