I can hear the bells of Dublin,
In this lonely waiting room,
The paperboys are singing in the rain,
Not too long before they take us,
To the airport and the noise,
To get on board a transatlantic plane.

We've got nothing left to stay for,
We have no more left to say,
And there isn't any work for us to do,
So farewell, you boys and girls,
Another bloody Flight of Earls,
Our best asset is our best export too.

It's not murder, fear or famine,
That makes us leave this time,
We're not going to join McAlpine's Fusiliers,
We've got brains and we've got vision,
We've got education too,
yet we just can't throw away these precious years.

So we walk the streets of London,
And the streets of Baltimore,
And we meet at night in several Boston bars,
We're the leaders of the future,
yet we're far away from home,
And we dream of you beneath the Irish stars.

As we look on Ellis Island,
And the Lady in the Bay,
As Manhattan turns to face another Sunday,
We just wonder what you're doing,
That can bring us all back home,
As we look forward to another Monday.

Because it's not the work that scares us,
We don't mind an honest job,
And we know things will get better once again,
So a thousand times adieu,
We've got Facebook and YouTube,
And all we're missing is the Guinness and the rain.

So switch off your new computers,
Because the writing's on the wall,
We're leaving as our fathers left before,
Take a look at Dublin Airport,
Or the boat that leaves North Wall,
There'll be no youth unemployment anymore.

Because we're over here in Queensland,
And in parts of New South Wales,
We're on the seas and airways and the trains,
But if we see better days,
Those airplanes go both ways,
And we'll all be coming home to you again,
Yes we'll all be coming home to you again.