A version with hints of Scottish, from the British Students' Song Book (revised) (companion to the Scottish Students' Song Book.) Undated, but the original was published in 1912, and A. G. Abbie was still Chief Editor of the Scottish Students' Song Book Committee at the time of the revision.


O Rogerum!

There was a rich man, and he lived in Jerusalem;
Glory, Hallelujah! O, Rogerum!
He wore a tall hat – you never saw so spruce a lum,
Glory, Hallelujah! O, Rogerum!

O, Rogerum! O, Rogerum!
Glory, Hallelujah! O, Rogerum!

At his garden gate there sat a human wreck-ium,
In a hooker-doon, with a cravat round his neck-ium,

The poor man died; and he went up to heaven-um,
And supped with the saints at a quarter past eleven-um,

The rich man died; but he didn’t do so well-ium;
He fell in with the chemist investigating Helium.

The rich man cried for a Brandy and Sodi-um;
For he felt the heat begin to discommodie ‘um,

He cried again for a whisky to consolie-‘um,
But the Devil only answered: “Shovel on the coalium.”

Ah! wealth, dear friends, doth ever end in smoke-ium;
We may thank our stars that we are stoney broke-ium.


"never saw so spruce a lum" lum = chimney, in this case a stove-pipe hat.

"hooker-doon" - a broad flat cap with the crown hooked down to the peak.