Will Ye Nay Come Back Billy Boy?

Verse 1: The sun and moon were on the rise
You were born with stars in your eyes
But you went before your time
They broke the path of the line

Bridge 1: The fields are crying
As the mist swings low
The moon is hanging
On the green hills oh

Chorus: Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?

Verse 2: Highways and byways melt and sweat
The earth shakes and roars with regret
The fat of the land runs dry
And the rains no longer cry

Bridge 2: The plough is broken
And the crops don't grow
The wine tastes bitter
Like vinegar oh

Chorus: Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?

Verse 3: The bride still awaits your return
The altar starts to smoke and burn
The page is marked in the book
That lies open by the brook

Bridge 3: The bells ring on high
And the horns do blow
A distant dove flies
Towards the sun oh

Chorus: Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?

The sun and moon were on the rise
You were born with stars in your eyes
But you went before your time
They broke the path of the line

Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?
Will ye nay come back Billy Boy?

Paul Thomas

Written in an Irish Gaelic style about someone who has gone and is
badly missed.
'Will Ye Nay Come Back Billy Boy' has won an honorary mention in the 3rd Annual International Narrative Song Competition 2007