The Ferrybank Piper

y the river in the even time the piper used to play
And down along the railway tracks he’d play songs sad and gay
His pipes were always well in tune and the people used to say
His songs would echo in evening tide and carry miles away

So here’s to the ferrybank piper, may his sad tunes never die
May his gay tunes raise your weary hearts, till in your grave you lie

Some times he’d pipe a haunting tune, sometimes he’d hum a song
But always a crowd would gather and follow him along
And the sound of their voices in the evening sky would rise and linger long
But no more they echo on the evening tide, now that he is gone.

So here’s to the ferrybank piper, may his sad tunes never die
May his gay tunes raise your weary hearts, till in your grave you lie

And now when I walk down that way and hear the river flow
I think of that old piper and the songs he used to know
A happy tune runs thru my head and I sing it soft and low
And I think I hear the echo of the evening tide, like the days of long ago

So here’s to the ferrybank piper, may his sad tunes never die
May his gay tunes raise your weary hearts, till in your grave you lie

– Robbie O’Connell