George Riley

When I arrived in the county Antrim
To view the banks fo the sweet harmony,
I espied a damsel so fair and handsome
you would really have thought she was the queen of May/

I stepped up to her, I did salute her,
I gently asked her to be my wife.
Most modestly she made me answer,
"Kind sir, I choose a sweet single life."

"You, fair young creature, you pride of nature,
What makes you differ from all female kind?
Your cherry cheeks, your eyes like amber,
It seems to marry you must incline.

"'Tis youth and folly makes young folks marry,
And when you're married then you must obey,
Since what can't be cured must be endured.
So farewell, Riley, I am going away."