Tell me why must a man be of service
To his Lord and the Gods seldom high
From the grave sprang the name of our fathers
But there's no glint in a dead man's eye

Tell me why our fields filled with hunger
And fruitless the crop bittered soil
So I say my farewell to a nation
As the leaf waves goodbye to its sun

So it's to youth I sing you this story
And it's of youth I sing it now
Like the train that derailed without warning
I must leave what I left far behind
So goodbye sweet Roisin Dubh, I say goodbye

Tell me why must our peace be this puzzle
That fractures the land splinters war
The last nail sank the shame on our coffin
But in the end we must all die alone

So it's to youth I sing you this story
And it's of youth I sing it now
Like the train that derailed without warning
Some must leave what they left far behind
So goodbye sweet Roisin Dubh, I say goodbye

And the bark fell from tree to the ground that now bleeds
On the anguish that never learnt to shout
When the clash of the drum will surrender the gun
And of this sadness we shall no longer speak

Until tank and the bomb are but all forgotten songs
That's when I and we will sing again
So goodbye to my love, my sweet Roisin Dubh
Goodbye now until we meet again

Tell me why must our grief still be grieving
For a language that never spoke its loss
But this tongue spit with fire will tear down the barbwire
Rip the belly from the waxy ghost

So it's to youth I sing you this story
And it's of youth I sing it now
Like the train that derailed without warning
We must leave what we left far behind

So it's to youth I sing you this story
And it's of youth I sing it now
Like the train that derailed without warning
We must leave what we left far behind
So goodbye sweet Roisin Dubh, I say goodbye
So goodbye sweet Roisin Dubh, I say goodbye

Until we meet again, until we meet again
Until we meet again, she'll rise to beautify
But slumber now must rest
Oh my Roisin Dubh I'll forever love
The youth you once possessed