When winter comes and all is silent, The saddled mare is tightly bound, The fox she prowls under the moonlight, Snow lies thickly on the ground. CHORUS: Though we bid farewell in sorrow, We will meet again in distant lands, And drink a health to friends at parting, For the exile will return again. The hearth is hard to leave this long night, We face a long and treacherous road, But hard times must be faced undaunted, Our loved ones lighten up our load. CHORUS The distant cairn of Knocknaree stands Bare and bleached o’er Queen Maeve’s tomb, O’Hara’s castle stands undaunted, Waiting for her lands to bloom. CHORUS The night is cold, the children are sleeping Restful dreams of Tír na nÓg, The Jeanie Johnson’s bound for sailing, And now my friends, it’s time to go. CHORUS