The Girl I Left Behind is an English folk song dating back to the Elizabethan era. It is said to have been played when soldiers left for war or a naval vessel set sail. According to other sources the song originated in 1758 when English Admirals Hawke and Rodney were observing the French fleet. The first printed text of the song appeared in Dublin in 1791. A popular tune with several variations, The Girl I Left Behind Me, may have been imported into America around 1650 as Brighton Camp, of which a copy dating from around 1796 resides in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

The melody is derived from a traditional Irish melody known as An Spailpín Fánach, meaning The Wandering Labourer, which was collected by Edward Bunting in The Ancient Music of Ireland (1840). An Spailpín Fánach continues to exist as a popular sean-nós song in traditional Irish-speaking communities, although it is unknown whether its lyrics predate The Girl I Left Behind Me or if the lyrics were a later addition to the An Spailpín Fánach melody.

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The hours sad I left a maid
A lingering farewell taking
Whose sighs and tears my steps delayed
I thought her heart was breaking
In hurried words her name I blest
I breathed the vows that bind me
And to my heart in anguish pressed
The girl I left behind me

Then to the east we bore away
To win a name in story
And there where dawns the sun of day
There dawned our sun of glory
The place in my sight
When in the host assigned me
I shared the glory of that fight
Sweet girl I left behind me

Though many a name our banner bore
Of former deeds of daring
But they were of the day of yore
In which we had no sharing
But now our laurels freshly won
With the old one shall entwine me
Singing worthy of our size each son
Sweet girl I left behind me

The hope of final victory
Within my bosom burning
Is mingling with sweet thoughts of thee
And of my fond returning
But should I n'eer return again
Still with thy love i'll bind me
Dishonors breath shall never stain
The name I leave behind me