Just like Galway Bay and MacNamara's Band, "The Mountains of Mourne" was considered to be typically Irish in the forties and fifties and could be everywhere throughout the British Isles and Ireland. This song, written by Percy French, is best sung in the light Irish tenor style of the legendary John McCormack. It's a beautiful ballad in the first person of a naive Irish lad writing to his beloved Mary on his impressions and experiences in London. At the end of each verse, he expresses that despite London's attractions, the best place is "...where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea."
The version I sing can be found in Soodlum's 100 Irish Ballads Volume 1.

Lyrics