If I were King of Ireland's Isle and had all things at my will
I'd roam for recreation and I'd seek for comfort still
But the fortune I would seek the most, you all might understand
Is to win the heart of Martha, the Flower of Sweet Straband

Her cheeks they are a rosy red, her hair a golden brown
And o'er her lilly white shoulders it carelessly flows down
She is one the loveliest creatures in the whole creation planned
And my heart is captivated by the flower of Sweet Straband

If I had you lovely Martha away in Innisown
Of in some lovely valley in the wild woods of Tyrone
I work my whole endeavor and I'd seek to work my plan
For my heart is captivated by the Flower of Sweet Straband

Oh now I'll go o're the Lagan down by the steamships tall
For now I'm bound for Amerikay across the briny foam
My ship is bound for Liverpool down by the Isle of Mann
So I'll say farewell and God Bless you My Flower of Sweet Straband

Well I've been in the Phoenix Park and in Killarney fair
The lovely glens of Antrim and the winding banks of Clare
In all my earthly travels I never yet met one
That could compare, I do declare, with the Flower of Sweet Straband

But since I cannot gain her love, no joy there is for me
And I must seek forgetfulness in lands across the sea
Unless she cares to follow me, I swear by my right hand
McKenna's face you'll ne'er more see, my Flower of Sweet Straband
So its farewell to sweet Derry Quay, New Mills and Waterside
I'll sail out o'er the ocean, whatever may betide
I'll sail away from Derry Quay out by the Isle of Man
And I'll bid farewell to Martha, the Flower of Sweet Straband