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Updated 01/03/2019

Teddy O'Neill

Teddy O'Neill is a traditional song written around 1840 and most likely comes from the North of Ireland.

Lyrics

I dreamt all last night, oh bad 'cess to my dreaming
I'd die if I thought t'would come surely to pass
I dreamt while the tears down my pillow were rolling
That Teddy was courting another fair lass

And didn't I wake with a weeping and a wailing
The pain in my heart was too deep to conceal
My mother cried "Nora dear, what is your ailing?"
But all I could answer was: Teddy O'Neill

I've see the old cabin beyond the wee boreen
I've see the old crossroads where we used to dance
I ramble the lane where he called me his story
And my girlish heart was so full of romance

But now all is so dark and so dreary
All dark and all silent, no piper, no real
Not even the sun through the casement shines cheery
Since I lost my darling love, Teddy O'Neill

Shall I ever forget when the big ship was ready
And the time it was come for my love to depart
How I cried like a child, oh goodbye to you, Teddy
With a tear on my cheek and a stone in my heart

He said t'was to better his fate, he went roaming
But what would be gold to the joy I would heal
If he'd only come back to me tender and loving
Yet poor but my own darling, Teddy O'Neill