Limerick is beautiful,
As everybody knows;
The river Shannon full of fish,
Through that city flows.
But ’tis not the river of the fish
That weighs upon my mind;
Nor with the town of Limerick
I’ve any fault to find – Ochone, ochone.

The girl I love is beautiful
And soft eyed as the fawn;
She lives in Garryowen
And is called the Colleen Bawn.
And proudly as that river flows
Through that famed city.
As proudly, and without a word,
That Colleen goes by me – Ochone, ochone.

If I was made the Emperor
Of Russia to command,
Or Julius Caesar, or the
Lord Lieutenant of the land,
I’d give my plate and golden store,
I’d give up my army;
The horses and the rifles, and the foot,
And the Royal Artillery – Ochone, ochone.

I’d give the crown from off my head
My people on their knees;
I’d give the fleet of sailing ships
Upon the briny seas.
A beggar I would go to bed,
And happy rise at dawn;
If by my side, for my sweet bride,
I had found my Colleen Bawn – Ochone, ochone.

Two versions of Limerick is Beautiful are given here, written by two different authors – it is believed given the similarities of each, that they came from an anonymous or traditional original.