The Poor Man
O poor man, O poor man come tell unto me true;
How you maintain your family and how you carry them through;
How you maintain your family when most of them are small
And nothing but your labour to maintain then all

'Tis sometimes I do reap and sometimes I do sow
Sometimes hedging, sometimes ditching, such work I often do;
There's nothing comes amiss to me, I harrow and I plow
I maintain my family by sweat of my brow

Early in the morning, l'm always of good cheer
With a flail in my hand and a bottle of good beer;
A flail in my hand and a bottle of good beer
I live as happy as those worth ten thousand a year

My wife she's always willing to hall [sic] in the yoke
We live like lambs together, and we never do provoke;
Altho' it may be possible that we do now live poor
Yet we can feed the beggars that come to our door

When I come home at nignt, su weary then I be
Then I take up my youngest child and dance it on my knee
The rest all come around me and make a prattling noise
And this is all the comfort [a] poor man enjoys
This nobleman hearing what this poor man did say
He invited him to dine with him the very next day
He invited him his wife and children all to bring
And in token of favor he gave him a ring

Quite early the next morning, this poor man arose
And dress'd up all his children in the finest of their cloaths
Then the poor man and his wife and his seven children small
They all went to dine at this nobleman's hall, '

And then after dinner he soon did let him know
What into this poor man's hands he had then to bestow;
'Twas forty or fifty good acres of his land
He gave him in writing and sign'd his own hand

Saying on this you may live happy all your life
Therefore I do entreat you to be kind to your wife;
Be kind unto your wife and children all around
There's few of those noblemen that are to be found

From Contentment, Douglas
@farm @poor @gift @wealth
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