Bedlam Bards - Kilkelly (Cedric's Farewell) lyrics

Kilkelly, Ireland, 1860, my dear and loving son John Your good friend schoolmaster Pat McNamara's so good As to write these words down Your brothers have all gone to find work in England The house is so empty and sad The crop of potatoes is sorely infected A third to a half of them bad And your sister Bridget and Patrick O'Donnell Are going to be married in June Mother says not to work on the railroad And be sure and come on home soon Kilkelly, Ireland, 1870, my dear and loving son John Hello to your Mrs. and to your 4 children May they grow healthy and strong Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble I suppose that he never will learn Because of the dampness there's no turf to speak of And now we have nothing to burn And Bridget is happy; you've named a child for her Although she's got six of her own You say you found work, but you don't say What kind or when you will be coming home Kilkelly, Ireland, 1880, dear Michael and John, my sons I'm sorry to give you the very sad news That your dear old mother has gone We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly Your brothers and Bridget were there You don't have to worry, she died very quickly Remember her in your prayers And it's so good to hear that Michael's returning With money he's sure to buy land For the crop has been poor and the people Are selling at any price that they can Kilkelly, Ireland, 1890, my dear and loving son John I suppose that I must be close now on eighty It's thirty years since you've gone Because of all of the money you send me I'm still living out on my own Michael has built himself a fine house And Bridget's daughters have grown Thank you for sending your family picture They're lovely young women and men You say that you might even come for a visit What joy to see you again Kilkelly, Ireland, 1892, my dear brother John I'm sorry I didn't write sooner to tell you, That father pa**ed on He was living with Bridget, she says he was cheerful And healthy right down to the end Ah, you should have seen him play with The grandchildren of Pat McNamara, your friend And we buried him alongside of mother Down at the Kilkelly churchyard He was a strong and a feisty old man Considering his life was so hard And it's funny the way he kept talking about you He called for you in the end Oh, why don't you think about coming to visit We'd all love to see you again