Come Back Paddy Reilly is a charming Irish song about the idyllic beauty of Ballyjamesduff, Ireland. Here the singer, Paddy Reilly, reflects warmly on his home
village, comparable in his eyes to the Garden of Eden. With its green grass and blue skies the village
awakes nostalgia in the weary Irishman. After a life of travel and toil, he believes he hears the call of his home
village with its happy memories, beckoning him back to those simpler times.
Come Back Paddy Reilly was written by Percy French, considered one of the greatest Irish poets. The song is a heartfelt plea to all those Irishmen who emigrated, embodied in Paddy Reilly, not to forget their loving homeland.
It is sung here by the Irish Tenors.
Listen to Come Back Paddy Reilly
Lyrics:
The garden of Eden has vanished they say,
But I know the lie of it still.
Just turn to the left at the bridge of Finea,
And stop when halfway to Coote Hill.
'Tis there you will find it I know sure enough,
Where fortune has come to my call.
The grass it is green, as from Ballyjamesduff,
And the blue sky is over it all.
And tones that are tender and tones that are gruff,
Come whispering over the sea.
"Come back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff,
Come home Paddy Reilly to me."
My mother once told me that when I was born,
The day that I first saw the light,
I looked down the street on that very first morn,
And gave a great crow of delight.
Now most newborn babies appear in a huff,
And start with a sorrowful squall.
But I knew I was born in Ballyjamesduff,
And that's why I smiled at them all.
The baby's a man now, he's toil-torn and rough,
Still whispers come over the sea.
"Come back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff,
Come home Paddy Reilly to me."
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