A young man praises the beauties of the countryside and the girl he has fallen in love with.
In frustration the boy leaves his childhood home and sails away, still praising the girl he loves that lives by the Moorlough Shore.
The song is set in Strabane, and local names and places along the River Mourne are mentioned.
[citation needed] There are notable recordings by: After the Easter Rising in Ireland, the parish priest Canon Charles O’Neil wrote the lyrics for the well known political song Foggy Dew to this air.
William Butler Yeats' poem Down by the Salley Gardens has been set to the same melody by Herbert Hughes.