And the rose perfumes the ocean-breeze, as love the hero's dream,
'Twas there I wooed my Maggie. In her dark eyes there did dwell
A secret that the billows knew, but yet could never tell.Oh! light as fairy tread her voice fell on my bounding heart;
And like the wild bee to the flower still clinging we would part.
"Sweet valley of Shanganagh," then I murmured, "though I die,
My soul will never leave thee for the heaven that's in the sky!"In the Valley of Shanganagh, where the sullen seagulls gleam,
And the pine-scent fills the sighing breeze as death the lover's dream,
'Twas there I lost my Maggie. Why that fate upon us fell
The powers above us knew, perhaps, if only they would tell.Oh! like the tread of mournful feet it fell upon my heart,
When, as the wild bee leaves the rose, her spirit did depart.
In the Valley still I linger, though it's fain I am to die,
But it's hard to find a far-off heaven when clouds are in the sky." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
"The Valley of Shanganagh (Written for the air 'The Wearing of the Green')"
“

In the Valley of Shanganagh, where the songs of skylarks teem,
And the rose perfumes the ocean-breeze, as love the hero's dream,
'Twas there I wooed my Maggie. In her dark eyes there did dwell
A secret that the billows knew, but yet could never tell.Oh! light as fairy tread her voice fell on my bounding heart;
And like the wild bee to the flower still clinging we would part.
"Sweet valley of Shanganagh," then I murmured, "though I die,
My soul will never leave thee for the heaven that's in the sky!"In the Valley of Shanganagh, where the sullen seagulls gleam,
And the pine-scent fills the sighing breeze as death the lover's dream,
'Twas there I lost my Maggie. Why that fate upon us fell
The powers above us knew, perhaps, if only they would tell.Oh! like the tread of mournful feet it fell upon my heart,
When, as the wild bee leaves the rose, her spirit did depart.
In the Valley still I linger, though it's fain I am to die,
But it's hard to find a far-off heaven when clouds are in the sky.

— John Martley

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In the Valley of Shanganagh, where the songs of skylarks teem,
And the rose perfumes the ocean-breeze, as love the hero's dream,
'Twas there I wooed my Maggie. In her dark eyes there did dwell
A secret that the billows knew, but yet could never tell.Oh! light as fairy tread her voice fell on my bounding heart;
And like the wild bee to the flower still clinging we would part.
"Sweet valley of Shanganagh," then I murmured, "though I die,
My soul will never leave thee for the heaven that's in the sky!"In the Valley of Shanganagh, where the sullen seagulls gleam,
And the pine-scent fills the sighing breeze as death the lover's dream,
'Twas there I lost my Maggie. Why that fate upon us fell
The powers above us knew, perhaps, if only they would tell.Oh! like the tread of mournful feet it fell upon my heart,
When, as the wild bee leaves the rose, her spirit did depart.
In the Valley still I linger, though it's fain I am to die,
But it's hard to find a far-off heaven when clouds are in the sky." in the context of ""The Valley of Shanganagh (Written for the air 'The Wearing of the Green')"" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "John Martley" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#John Martley#valley#shanganagh#dreamtwas#maggie#telloh#though#heaven#where#never#tread#still

About John Martley

John Martley (15 May 1844 – 25 August 1882) was an Irish 19th century poet. He contributed pieces to several Dublin magazines before his early death in 1882. His works were posthumously collected in Fragments in Prose and Verse (1883).