THE MERRY PLOUGHBOY
(John J. Blockley 1870's (?))

O I once was a mer-ry plough-boy
I was a-ploughing of the fields all day
Till a ve-ry fun-ny thought came to me
that I should roam a-way
for I'm sick and tired of coun-try life
since the day that I was born
So I've been and joined the R. H. A.
And I'm off to-mor-row morn.

chorus: hur-rah for the scar-let and the blue
hel-mets glit-tring in the sun
and the hor-ses gal-lop
like light-ning with a fif-teen pound-er gun
And no more will I go har-vest-ing
or gath-er-ing the gol-den corn
For I've been and took the shill-ing
and I'm off to-mor-row morn.

Well I've laid aside my pick and spade
And I've lad aside my plough
And I've laid aside my two-tined fork,
I shall not want it now
For there's little sport in England
up in the yorkshire dales so high
And beneath the kings own standard, aye
we'll conquer or we'll die

But there's on thing I must tell you
of the girl I leave behind
And I hope she will prove true to me
and I'll prove true in kind
And when I do return again
a sergeant's wife she'll be
with three gold stripes across my arm
in the Royal Horse Artillery