Vale Of Avondhu (R. Kavana)

 

I'm tired of this old dirty town, its ugly brickface tall and brown
A putrid smokecloud hanging round its rooftops as a pall.
I long for those glens and groves where once as a youth I roved
With Maggie Ford where tall grass grows in the vale of Avondhu.

It is the place where I was raised, my peoples' home since olden days,
Where oft times I did sport and play until a man I grew.
But hard times drove me o'er the foam, now the Rockies high I roam
Far from my true love and home in the vale of Avondhu.

    Our ship was full of starving folk, barely half alive
    By the time we had reached Quebec only the strong survived.

If I ruled all Canadians from Vancouver to St. John's
I would give it all away to be at home once more
This great land has been good to me, gave me a home and liberty
Yet, I long to stroll the fields in the vale of Avondhu.