Hi Wayne,
Here are the words to my old brown coat as best as I can give them to you.


MY OLD BROWN COAT AND ME
As recorded by Lawrence Older on "Adirondack Songs, Ballads and Fiddle Tunes" (1964)

Oh, the moon was out. The stars were bright. The larks were singing free.
Come and listen while I sing about my old brown coat and me.

I lived upon my father's farm 'til I was twenty-one.
I bought a farm then, of my own, and a man's life begun.

I fell in love with Mary Braid; her father owned a store.
There never was a girl beloved so tenderly before.

Now Mary Braid was a fair young maid but haughty as could be.
She oft times said she would not wed my old brown coat and me.

I did not stop to plead my case; pleading was in vain.
I bade adieu to Mary Braid, nor saw her face again.

There's forty summers o'er my head. There's riches in my store.
My children play out on the green. My wife stands in the door.

I've land enough. I've money enough. I've houses tall and high.
There's not a squire in all this land can wear such clothes as I.

Now Mary Braid was a fair young maid but haughty as could be.
She was wedded to a lawyer's son, whose name was Josalie.

He wore a coat all shiny black and looked so very grand,
That Mary fancied he would make a noble and true man.

Now Mary's husband he became a pirate on the sea.
She oft times said she wished she'd wed my old brown coat and me.

Now girls when you are called to choose a man that bends the knee,
Think of the fate of Mary Braid, my old brown coat and me.

Remember that an old brown coat, though not so very grand,
Can cover up as warm a heart as any in the land.


That's the best I can do. The record I got it from is a bit scratchy and all the words are not too distinct.