Mary O’Shannesey had long black hair
She combed it every day
A hundred times on either side
'till her long black hair turned grey
Mary O’Shannesey once married a man
A man not fit for a wife
He gave her her sons
and took leave with his gun
To put an end to his miserable life
Mary O’Shannesey bore seven sons
Not one is alive today
Those not killed in the war,
or dead before
Drank themselves to an early grave
Mary O’Shannesey lived a life of remorse
For the dreams that she never attained
'though she prayed to the Lord
Her prayers were ignored
As her soul was indelibly stained
For Mary O’Shannesey once murdered a man
When she was barely more than a child
He took what was pure
To the pits of the sewer
‘till something insider had died
Mary O’Shannesey had one great love
The beautiful music she made
The strings of her harp
Were tied to her heart
and made her courageous and brave
Many years later
when her husband was gone
And her sons had drifted away
She hunted that man
'till she found him again
And with a rock she beat out his brains
Though nobody knows,
but Mary and Joe
And he aint got nothin' to say
She's riddled with guilt
for the life that she build
Was laid on foundations of shame
