My name is Sean O' Flaherty
And the story I will tell
Come gather round and quiet down
As so, to hear it well

Listen for patience
As I sing this song
For my voice it is weak
And my drink it is strong

My father played the accordion
A passion in his hands
To end the day he'd sit and play
The music of his land

He played it to forget
And he played to recall
And he played for his family
But for me most of all

He said Sean come listen
To what I have to say
The time has come, for you my son
To learn how to play

My hands have grown tired
And I'm counting the moons
So please take my instrument
With it take my tunes

The music, it was brilliant
The music, it was grand
The instrument would dance around
Alive in my hand

I played it to forget
And i played to recall
And I played for my father
For him most of all

And in the cold month of January
My father passed away.
And in that time I came to find
Music hard to play.

But troubled I was not
With a drink in my hand
For it's easy to forget
When it's hard just to stand

So I pass my old accordion
To the pub as if to play
But I pass it far, across the bar
My drinking for today

You can drink to forget
You can drink to recall
But I drink to this old instrument
That hangs on the wall