I have sought to discover a haven of rest
Where the sun sinks by night in the land of the West
I have dwelt with the red man in green forest bowers
O'er the wild rolling prairie bespangled with flowers
I have hived to the north, where the hardy pine grows
'Mid the wolf and the bear, and the bleak winter snows
I have roamed through all climates, but none could I see
Like the green hills of Cork and my home by the Lee

Beautiful city, charming and pretty
Beautiful city, my home by the Lee

I have slumbered in palm groves by clear running streams
And the wild groves of Blarney come haunting my dreams
I have listened to bells on the soft summer wind
But the sweet bells of Shandon were dear to my mind
I have mixed in gay dances my sorrows to hide
But there's none like the maiden that's now by my side
There is nought in the land of the slave or the free
Like the green hills of Cork and my home by the Lee

Beautiful city, charming and pretty
Beautiful city, my home by the Lee

The bold feudal castles look down on the Rhine
That flows through the land of the olive and vine
There is freedom and health in the fresh mountain breeze
That careers round the home of the brave Tyrolese
There is beauty and love in all spots of the earth
To the heart that can call it the land of its birth
But of all the fair countries, the dearest to me
Are the green hills of Cork and my home by the Lee

Beautiful city, charming and pretty
Beautiful city, my home by the Lee