It doesn't Seem Very Long Ago

It doesn't seem very long ago since I was a school going boy
But now my hair is silvery gray how quick the time did fly
It seems like only yesterday since I heard the corncrake cry
And young birds chirped in leafy groves in Millstreet in July.

It doesn't seem very long ago seems only like last May
Since I last heard the wood pigeons in woodland far away
But almost sixteen years have passed since then and that's a lengthy span
And the schoolboy then now in his prime and I an ageing man.

It doesn't seem very long ago since fifty three or fifty four
Since I first climbed up towards Clara hill through fields of Claramore
The little lark was piping in the sunny summer sky
But it's been a long long time ago since I was a young boy.

It doesn't seem very long ago not very long 'twould seem
Since I last heard the dipper piping in the mountain stream
But the school boy then is a father now and at his peak and prime
Still sixteen years doesn't seem that long on looking back in time.