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Bonny Portmore Lyrics
O bonny Portmore, you shine where you stand
And the more I think on you the more I think long
If I had you now as I had once before
All the lords in Old England would not purchase Portmore.
O bonny Portmore, I am sorry to see
Such a woeful destruction of your ornament tree
For it stood on your shore for many's the long day
Till the long boats from Antrim came to float it away.
O bonny Portmore, you shine where you stand
And the more I think on you the more I think long
If I had you now as I had once before
All the Lords in Old England would not purchase Portmore.
All the birds in the forest they bitterly weep
Saying, "Where shall we shelter or where shall we sleep?"
For the Oak and the Ash, they are all cutten down
And the walls of bonny Portmore are all down to the ground.
O bonny Portmore, you shine where you stand
And the more I think on you the more I think long
If I had you now as I had once before
All the Lords of Old England would not purchase Portmore.
And the more I think on you the more I think long
If I had you now as I had once before
All the lords in Old England would not purchase Portmore.
Such a woeful destruction of your ornament tree
For it stood on your shore for many's the long day
Till the long boats from Antrim came to float it away.
And the more I think on you the more I think long
If I had you now as I had once before
All the Lords in Old England would not purchase Portmore.
Saying, "Where shall we shelter or where shall we sleep?"
For the Oak and the Ash, they are all cutten down
And the walls of bonny Portmore are all down to the ground.
And the more I think on you the more I think long
If I had you now as I had once before
All the Lords of Old England would not purchase Portmore.
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i love this song, i cried the first time, and every time afterwards that i listened to it, it's truely amazing!!!
I love this song, it is so beautiful. It is about the destruction of the forests in Portmore
Her voice really gets to you....It's so powerful and passionate...I agree that it's about the forests of Portmore....It's STUNNING <33
The song is about the Great Oak of Portmore, which stood on the shores of Portmore Lough, in Antrim. Portmore "shines where it stands" becauise it is a body of water and thus the light reflects off it and plays on the waves. The Oak, which is known as an Ornament Tree becuse of its large size and age, was toppled in a wind storm in 1760. By that time, the walls of Portmnore Castle had also been dismantled and cast "down to the ground."
The song, therefore, is a lament for the passing away of many old, and known things; the things that may not have been as highly esteemed when they existed, but which are know understood to be without price. Hence the lines "If I had you now as I had once before/All the lords in Old England would not purchase Portmore."