Tievebrack, County Donegal

McGowan's Bean Sidhe.

1. In the battle of life with its woes and depressions,
I withstood the cares and sorrows of the day,
The agony of parting with friends and relations
When they sailed in the ships to the lands far away
But there is a sorrow deep down in my heart
That always can bring a sad memory to me
Of the day I was forced from my Noreen to part
And I heard the sad wail of McGowan’s Bean Sidhe.

2. By the little white cot at the end of the boreen
The moon shed her silvery light o’er the lea;
 I stood by the gate and was talking to Noreen
The night that I heard the McGowan’s Bean Sidhe

3. With a laugh like the song of the lark in the morning
My Noreen was blithe and as brisk as a bee,
The auburn ringlets her white brow adorning,
Her eyes spoke of love as she whispered to me.
I was glad that she loved me, and proud I had won her
And I was as happy, as happy could be
Ah! little I knew of the call that was on her
The night that I heard the McGowan’s Bean Sidhe

4. And when they brought me the news the next morning
My Noreen had gone to the angels above.
‘Twas then that I full understood the dread warning
And sorely I wept o’er the loss of my love
All night had I dreamed of the weeping and wailing
Awake, I would wonder for whom it could be
And whilst I’d been dreaming, grim death had been stealing
In the blossom of life my sweet coleen from me.


From the National Folklore Collection UCD.