GAFFER’S SONG

The boys don’t hoe like they used to do, And the maids don’t sew like they used to do; The hen don’t lay And the hound don’t bay, And the wind don’t blow like it used to do. The men don’t drink like they used to do, And the girls don’t wink like they used to do; The bud don’t swell And the flow’rs don’t smell; And the folk don’t think like they used to do. The milk don’t cream like it used to do, And the ewes don’t teem like they used to do; The corn don’t kern And the sun don’t burn; And my head won’t scheme like it used to do. Bad men ban’t hung like they used to be, Good songs ban’t sung like they used to be; The jolly and wise Have all flown to the skies; And I ban’t so young as I used to be.