From the musical “Dion O’Dare”, 1908.
Words and music by Fiske O’Hara and Frank Hersom.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- The rose belongs to England
And the lily fair, to France
The thistle clings to Scotland
With its sharply pointed lance
But the native of old Erin
Where e’er his pathway goes
Remembers in his wanderings
Where the Shamrock grows
Just a little sprig of shamrock
From the banks of Erin’s Isle
Just a little sprig of shamrock
That has traveled many a mile
But it brings a whiff of fragrance
To the homesick, sad exile
That precious sprig of shamrock
From fair Erin’s verdant Isle
- He may stroll in stately mansions
And gain the highest praise
But his heart is always faithful
To the thought of other days
And the little simple blossom
Can more blissful pleasure bring
In its breath of hillside glory
Than the plaudits of a King