The Deansgate BARBER. Brushed up and Lathered into song BY AN OLD SHAVER Tune—"The Organ Grinder." Come listen, all ye gay young men, To a ballad newly made, And a story true I'll tell unto you Of a Deansgate barber blade; How he courted a girl called bonny Kate, And sang such sweet refrains, Till the barbarous man Did her heart trepan, And fairly turned her brains With his strains. So, boys, have a care If you are on with the fair: Deceitful thoughts ne'er harbour, But ponder well On what befell The faithless Deansgate barber. He met her first, I won't say when, But I think you all know where. She chanced to drop In the barber's shop For a pennyworth of oil for her hair. Then he gave her an awful loving look And squeezed her hand so hard, As he passed her a lot Of pomatum in a pot Which he'd made from a bladder of lard In the yard. So boys have a care, &c. Then he made her a present of twelve half-crowns To buy a new wedding gown, With a pink parasol, False curls and a fall To wear when she walked up town, And he told her he'd eight hundred pounds in the bank, And of rings and jewels he'd a many, And all that he had He'd give her and be glad If she would be his half-penny. [*] So boys have a care, &c. Then he took her to famed Belle Vue for a dance, And then for a moonlight walk, To a place he knew Where buttercups grew And they had a little private talk, And he sat by her side on the bright green grass And vowed her a solemn vow, And the talked so much, And her innocence was such, She got ruined and she couldn't tell how. What a row! So boys have a care, &c. When apples are ripe, they are sure to fall, And all in time there came, As a pledge of their love, Such a dear little dove, But it ain't got a penny to its name; And the barber he refused to be its papa, Though like him as a mutton to a mole! It was marked—the little chap— With a razor and a strap And a full-length figure of his pole. Upon my soul! So boys have a care, &c. Now the barber he married another girl And Kate went to law straightway, And four score pounds Was the inside bounds Of the damages he'd got to pay. So mind, ye jolly young shavers all, If a maiden's heart ye entail, Don't squeeze too hard Or give her hog's lard If she calls for a pennyworth of oil As a foil. So, boys, have a care If you are on with the fair: Deceitful thoughts ne'er harbour, But ponder well On all that befell The faithless Deansgate barber. [* There seems to be a short line missing here; it should rhyme with "penny."] |