I followed the beck where the waters roar
I climbed the rugged mountainside
To the Gable crags, where the eagles soar
I came through the Jaws of the Derwent Dale,
Where the cattle low and the cuckoos sing,
By the cuckoo wall the dalesmen built
To cage the birds and cage the spring.
Through Johnny's Wood to the old stone bridge
I greeted a shepherd and his dog,
Up the Ghyll where the sun shines on the stream
By broken screes and a mountain bog...
I looked to the south through a misty haze
And I saw the distant hills of home.
Down a grassy slope I made my way,
To find a bed before the day was gone..
