another day's at end
mama says she's tired again
no one can even begin to tell her

i hardly know what to say
but maybe it's better that way
if poppa were here i'm sure he'd tell her

shannon is gone i heard
she's drifting out to sea
she always loved to swim away
ah....
maybe she'll find an island
with a shaded tree
just like the one in our backyard
ah...

mama tries hard to pretend
that things will get better again
somehow she's keepin' it all inside her

but finally the tears fill our eyes
and i know that somewhere tonight
she knows how much we really miss her

shannon is gone i heard
she's drifting out to sea
she always loved to swim away
ah....
maybe she'll find an island
with a shaded tree
just like the one in our backyard
ah...
just like the one in our backyard
ah...