When i was young long years ago and haws were on hawthorn <br />The boo of threshing machine in farmer's yard when farmer threshed his corn <br />Some men piked sheafs others built straw ricks, the corn was ripe and yellow <br />And Jer Noonan fed the threshing drum when i was a young fellow. <br /> <br />He threshed in north Cork and east Kerry and all around Duhallow <br />And everywhere Jer Noonan threshed the chaffinches did follow <br />To eat seeds from the chaff the thresher left their craws were never empty <br />At that time of year back in those days seed eating birds had plenty. <br /> <br />In Autumn months long years ago all over Cork and Kerry <br />Men worked hard in the threshing yards and at night fall made merry <br />But sound of thresher long since dead those days are gone forever <br />The farmer changed to modern ways and from the old did sever <br /> <br />The threshing days were happy days and people more together <br />And neighbour helped his neighbour out like brother helped out brother <br />But modern technology changed all that and man's technological endeavour <br />Brought end to boo of threshing machine and something lost forever. <br /> <br />Jer Noonan is no longer young the years have made him older <br />But he is still quite young at heart his humour not grown colder <br />And he still talk about the happy days when he threshed all around Duhallow <br />And to everywhere his machine went the chaffinches did follow<br /><br />Francis Duggan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/threshing-days/
