I have heard this song many many times. The version I chose is most similar to Joe Heaney's. He was an sean-nos singer who moved to the Northwest United States. The songs he knew and the stories that went with them were recorded and that work is archived online. It is a wonderful searchable resource. You can visit the website here: www.JoeHeaney.org
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
Fair is the lily of the valley
Clear is the water that flows in yonder stream
But my love is fairer than any.Over the mountain and down to the glen
To a little thatched cottage in the valley
Where the thrush and the linnet sing their ditties and their songs
And my love is waiting for me there.Down by the seashore on a cool summer’s eve
With the moon rising over the heather
The moon it shone fair o’er her head of golden hair
As she vowed she’d be my love forever.It’s not for parting with my sister Kate
Or for the loss of my mother
It’s all for the loss of my bonnie brown-eyed lass
That I’m leaving my homeland forever.