| Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 60, my dear and loving son John | |
| Your good friend the 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 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, 18 and 70, 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 guess that he never will learn. | |
| Because of the dampness there's no turf to speak of | |
| and now we have nothing to burn. | |
| And Brigid is happy, you named a child for her | |
| and now 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, 18 and 80, 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 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, 18 and 90, my dear and loving son John | |
| I guess that I must be close on to eighty, | |
| it's thirty years since you're 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 Brigid'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, 18 and 92, my dear brother John | |
| I'm sorry that I didn't write sooner to tell you that father passed on. | |
| He was living with Brigid, 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. |
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