My grandfather taught my father a different version in the 1940s.


I had a horse and I named him Napoleon,
named him because of his bonnie pride,
Hitched him to an old milk wagon.
Taught him to stop when I cried 'Milk!'.

Along comes the duke in the finest livery,
He asks me 'Do you want to race?'
And sure as I'm sinning I was coming in a winning ....
when the duke said 'Milk!' ...

   and I lost that race!