A Wealden Trio

Text:

When ye’ve got a child ‘ats whist for want of food,

And a grate as grey’s y’r ‘air for want of wood,

And y’r man and you ain’t nowise not much good;

Oh –

It’s hard work a-Christmassing, Carolling,

Singin’ songs about “the Babe what’s born.”

When ye’ve ‘eered the bailiff’s ‘and upon the latch,

And ye’ve feeled the rain a-trickling through the thatch,

An’ yu’r man can’t git no stones to break ner yit no sheep to watch;

Oh you’ve got to come a-Christmassing, Carolling,

Singin’of the “Shepherds on that morn.”

‘E was a man as poor as us, very near,

An ‘E ‘ad ‘is trials an’ danger,

An’ I think ‘E’ll think of us when ‘E sees us singing ‘ere;

For is mother was poor, like us, poor dear,

An’ she bore Him in a manger.

Oh –

It’s warm in the heavens, but it’s cold upon the earth,

And we ain’t no food at table nor no fire upon the hearth;

And it’s bitter hard a-Christmassing, Carolling,

Singin’ songs about our Saviour’s birth;

Singin’ songs about the Babe what’s born;

Singin’ of the shepherds on that morn.