Words and music copyright Peter Jones, 1983

Kilkelly Ireland1860
My dear and loving son John
Your good friend the schoolmaster Pat
Mac Namara'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 with
A third to a half of them bad
Your sister Brigid and Patrick O' Donnell are
going to be married in June
Your mother says not to work on the railroad
And be sure to come on home soon.

Kilkelly Ireland 1870
My dear and loving son John
Hello to your Mrs. and to your four 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 there is nothing to burn
Brigid is happy you 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'll be coming home

Killy Ireland 1880
Dear Michael and John my sons
I'm sorry to give you the sad news
But your dear old mother passed on
We buried her down at the church in
Kilkelly
Your brothers and Brigid 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 on 80
It's 30 years since you've gone
Because of all of the money you sent me
I'm still living out on my own
Michael has built himself a fine house
And Brigid's daughters have grown.
Thank you for sending your family's 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
But Father passed on. He was living with Brigid
she says he was cheerful
And healthy right down to the end
Ah you should've seen him playin' with the
grandchildren
Of Pat MacNamara your friend
We buried him alongside of Mother
Down at the Kilkelly church yard
He was a strong and a feisty old man
Considering his life was so hard
And it's funny the way he kept talkin'about
you
He called for you at the end
Why don't you think about coming to visit.
We'd all love to see you again