The following lyric was a collaborative effort from myself and another 'catter ("The Dane"), shortly after Lonnie's passing. He was planning to record it, but so far I've had no news of its appearance on CD.

"Lonnie Donegan - RIP"

On a cold winter's day, at the start of November,
Came the end of a story we'll always remember,
When they gave out the news that a hero of mine
Had made his last ride down the Rock Island Line.

Chorus:        And we sang all the old songs as we sat round the bar,
        On the night Lonnie Donegan laid down his guitar.

Now do you recall the way things used to be?
No room on the bandstand for you, or for me.
Just men in tuxedos, with brilliantined hair
And songs about "Lurve", to a beat that was square. Ch.

Then up jumped Lonnie, guitar in his hand,
And went singing his folk songs all over the land.
And thousands of youngsters soon found it was true -
Although he sang them better, they could all sing them too. Ch.

With a washboard for a drum kit, and a tea-chest for a base,
In a church hall, a coffee bar, or any old place,
The kids gathered round, just to sing and to play
Those three magic chords you could learn in one day. Ch.

We learned songs about the farmer whose crop got wiped out,
The miner, the lumberjack, and the old roustabout,
The hobo and the drifter in search of a meal,
And all the good folks who never get a square deal. Ch.

You taught us about Woody, and Leadbelly too -
Would we ever have heard them, if it hadn't been for you?
May your memory stay green, and your legend live on,
And we'll tell 'em Lonnie Donegan's done been here and gone.

Chorus:        And we sang all the old songs as we sat round the bar,
        On the night Lonnie Donegan laid down his guitar.

Sing it to the tune of the cowboy song "I ride an old paint", and honour the memory of the man without whom ...

Wassail!