On a cold morn in May the old man passed away
With his family there by his side
And surrounded by friends he knew his time would end
As he ebbed with the outgoing tide
Still he asked to extend to his fusilier friends
With whom he'd made the racket and noise
Well his thanks and his praise for the finest of days
And for all of the pleasure and joy
Bound far away, leaving today
To finally dance with his Queen of the May once again
We'll miss you now my friend
Many hours as a boy I would listen with joy
To his stories of Cornwall of old
But like yesterday's sun all the miners have gone
And the heart of a county is sold
He'd looked on with distain with the farmers restrained
And the fisherman forced to retire
But they could not take away Padstow's first day of May
Cos it burned in his soul like a fire
Bound far away, leaving today
To finally dance with his Queen of the May once again
We'll miss you now my friend
Well his lips they did shake and his heart it did break
As he struggled to find his own voice
This is where I was born on a cold winter morn
And I'll die here if I have the choice
Then his eyes opened wide and they glistened with pride
As he finally made the last sound
In a voice loud and striking cried Kernow Bys Vyken,
His hand promptly fell to the ground
Bound far away, leaving today
To finally dance with his Queen of the May once again
We'll miss you now my friend
And so on George's Well we bid him the farewell
And the tears they rolled up in our eyes
Still we knew very well through the tales we would tell
That the oldest of friends never die
Onto Stepper we went and with each scatter sent
His body back into the sea
I stood there and cried but I knew deep inside
That the old man would live on through me
Bound far away, he's leaving today
To finally dance with his Queen of the May once again
We'll miss you now my friend
Cos you're bound far away, leaving today
To finally dance with his Queen of the May once again
We'll miss you now my friend
Now you're gone