The men of Claddagh village Were out upon the sea Fishing for some food To feed their families For there were many dangers On the fishing trip But of these few the greatest A Spanish pirate ship The pirates did appear once On that fateful day They captured all the men And hurried them away Along the distant shores From upon the rolling waves And sold them to a goldsmith To spend their lives as slaves Young Richard was the saddest For he had left behind A girl that he loved dearly So tender and so kind For many years had passed And poor Richard felt the pain A pain that he would never see His one true love again To keep his spirits up And to keep hope in his heart Each day he stole a speck of gold And made into art And with the tiny pieces He made a golden ring To give it to his love one day To make her true heart sing And then the day had finally come When all the men were free To start their trip to Ireland Upon the rolling sea And Richard's heart lept with joy When finally he did learn His love had stayed faithful On wait of his return For it was on that day After so many years After all the hardship After all the tears That Richard held his loved one And made her true heart sing He gave to her his work of love The beautiful Claddagh Ring The beautiful Claddagh Ring The beautiful Claddagh Ring