I grew up in a very music-focused family. Every chance we got, we were all around grandma’s piano. We also had violin, flute, cello, guitar, and trumpet players in the family. Irish songs were always fun for a sing-along!

Here are the words to a few popular Irish sing-along songs:

My Wild Irish Rose

My Wild Irish Rose,
The sweetest flower that grows.
You may search everywhere,
But none can compare
With my Wild Irish Rose.
My Wild Irish Rose,
The dearest flower that grows.
And someday for my sake,
She may let me take,
The bloom from my Wild Irish Rose.

Danny Boy

Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling,
From glen to glen and down the mountain side.
The summer’s gone and all the leaves are falling,
‘Tis you, ’tis you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back, when summer’s in the meadow,
And all the valley’s hushed and white with snow.
And I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, Danny Boy, Oh, Danny Boy, I love you so!

But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying
If I be dead, as dead I well may be.
Then come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an “Ave” there for me.

And I shall hear, though soft your tread above me,
And o’er my grave will warmer, sweeter be.
And if you bend, and tell me that you love me,
Then I shall rest in peace until you come to me.

Galway Bay

If you ever go across the sea to Ireland,
Then maybe at the closing of your day,
You will sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh, And see the sun go down on Galway Bay.

And if there’s to be a life hereafter
And somehow I’m sure there’s going to be,
I will ask my God to let me make my heaven,
In that dear land across the Irish sea.

Just to hear again the ripple of the trout stream
And the women in the meadows making hay,
To sit beside the turf fire in the cabin
And watch the barefoot gossoons at their play.

A Great Day for the Irish

It’s a Great Day for the Irish,
It’s a great day for the fair!
The sidewalks of New York are thick with blarney,
For sure you’d think New York was ol’ Killarney!

It’s a great day for the shamrock,
For the flags in full array.
We’re feeling so inspirish,
Sure because for all the Irish,
It’s a Great, Great, DAY!

A Little Bit of Heaven

Sure, a little bit o’ Heaven fell from out of the sky one day,
And nestled on the ocean in a spot so far away;
And the angels found it, sure it looked so sweet and fair.
They said suppose we leave it, for it looks so peaceful there!
So they sprinkled it with stardust just to make the shamrocks grow;
‘Tis the only place you’ll find them, no matter where you go;
Then they dotted it with silver, to make its lakes so grand,
And when they had it finished sure they called it IRELAND!

I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover

I’m looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before.
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain,
Third is the roses that grow in the lane.
No need explaining the one remaining
Is somebody I adore.
I’m looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before!

Peg o’ My Heart

Peg o’ my heart, I love you,
We’ll never part, I love you,
Dear little girl, sweet little girl,
Sweeter than the Rose of Erin
Are your winning smiles endearin’,
Peg o’ my heart, your glances
With Irish art entrance me,
Come be my own,
Come, make your home in my heart.

That’s an Irish Lullaby

Over in Killarney,
Many years ago,
Me mother sang a song to me
In tones so sweet and low.
Just a simple little ditty,
In her good old Irish way.
And I’d give the world if she could sing
That song to me this day.

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Too-ra-loo-ra-li.
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Hush now don’t you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Too-ra-loo-ra-li.
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
That’s an Irish lullaby.

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

There’s a tear in your eye,
And I’m wondering why,
For it never should be there at all.
With such power in your smile,
Sure a stone you’d beguile,
So there’s never a teardrop should fall.
When your sweet lilting laughter’s
Like some fairy song,
And your eyes twinkle bright as can be,
You should laugh all the while
And all other times smile,
And now, smile a smile for me.

When Irish eyes are smiling
Sure it’s like a morn in spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter,
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.