A Band of Gold
        by Bill O'Connor, c. 2002

My grandparents came to America one year apart from each other.  When Lin found a plain gold ring which had been given to my mother from her mother, I started thinking about how hard a time it must have been for them.  They were separated by an ocean and there were no guarantees that they'd ever see each other again.  My grandfather was alone in a new country, looking for work.  Looking at this ring and thinking of their situation resulted in this song. 

Album: Through the Years/Bill O'Connor

A band of gold was handed down
Through generations lost now found
What can you tell of those before whose love you bound?
A red haired girl in Irish lace
A ring around her finger placed
Where there were two there now was one in love's embrace.

Refrain: A perfect circle, a perfect love
            A dreary world to rise above
            A simple ring without a stone
            More treasured now for love lives on.

A band of gold holds memories
When forced apart by distant seas
A promise held tight in her hand, a prayer "Oh, please!"
The promise kept, apart no more
A different sky, a different shore
The same true love, the same true vow for evermore.

Refrain

A band of gold, an heirloom found
You tell your tales without a sound
A mother's past, a symbol of a love unbound.

A band of gold.