The following version is as Bill Spence sings it on the LP Fennigmania by Fennig's All-Stars (1981). It's basically the same as the second set above (diffs emboldened) with an additional verse (the second).

Free and Easy

1. I'm the lad that's free and easy,
Oh, but a simple country clown,
And I'll do my best to please you
For they calls me Honest John.

Chorus:
Oh, let the world jog on as it pleases,
I'll be free and easy still;
Free and easy, free and easy,
I'll be free and easy still.

2. If a king should sit beside me,
I'll drink my cup with the usual glee.
When paupers laugh and fools deride me,
Still I'll free and easy be.

3. There's a lady that I fancy;
Oh, that she might fancy me!
Then I'd call her "Lovely Nancy"
And I'd free and easy be.

4. If this lady should prove civil,
True and constant I would be,
But if she's saucy as the devil,
Still I'll free and easy be.

(Reprise of first verse:) I'm the lad...


In the liner notes, Bill says he learned it from a Topic LP by The Broadside From Grimsby, who got it from Bryan Cooper of Barrow-on-Humber, 1906.

My simplified transcription of the tune follows. I give two versions of the chorus: a solo and a trio. The solo duplicates the tenor line of the trio, except at the end of second line (the first "easy still"), where I opted to stay around F# instead of going up to B. I'm sure I've made other unintentional alterations; caveat emptor.

X:1
T:Free and Easy
C:Victorian broadside
S:Bryan Cooper of Barrow-on-Humber, 1906
S:By way of The Broadside From Grimsby and Bill Spence (Fennig's All-Stars)
S:Transcription from _Fennigmania_ by Fennig's All-Stars
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=138
K:E
%%MIDI program 1 25
%
% Verse
"E"E3FG2E2 | "A"A2G2 "B"F2E2 | "E"G2GAB2A2 | "A"c2c2 "B"B3z |
w: I'm the lad that's free and ea-sy, Oh, but a sim-ple coun-try clown,
"E"B3BG2E2 | "A"c2c2 "F#7"^A2F2 | "B"B3cB2A2 | G2F2 "E"E3z |
w: And I'll do my best to please you For they calls me "Ho-nest John".
%
% Chorus (as a solo)
"E"G2GFE2B,B, | E2EFG2B2 | "A"c3c "E"B2G2 | "F#7"F2G2 "B"F3z |
w: Oh, let the world jog a-long as it plea-ses, I'll be free and ea-sy still.
"E"B2B2G2E2 | "A"c2c2"F#7"^A2F2 | "B"B3cB2A2 | G2F2 "E"E3z |
w: Free and ea-sy, free and ea-sy, I'll be free and ea-sy still.
%
% Chorus (as a trio)
% Note: The chorus is sung only once per verse, not as a solo followed by
%   harmony.
"E"[E2G2B2][EGB][DFA][B,2E2G2][G,B,E][G,B,E] | [B,2E2G2][B,EG][DFA][E2G2B2][G2B2e2] | \
w: Oh, let the world jog a-long as it plea-ses, \
"A"[A3c3e3][Ace] "E"[G2B2e2][E2G2B2] | "F#7"[^A2F2c2][F2^A2e2] "B"[F3B3d3]z |
w: I'll be free and ea-sy still.*
"E"[G2B2e2][G2B2e2][E2G2B2][B,2E2G2] | "A"[A2c2e2][A2c2e2] "F#7"[F2^A2c2][C2F2^A2] | \
w: Free and ea-sy, free and ea-sy, \
"B"[F3B3d3][Gce][F3B3d3][EAc] | [D2G2B2][C2F2A2] "E"[B,3E3G3]z ||
w: I'll be free and ea-sy still.*

And here's the chorus separated into three voices; you may find this more suitable for printing a score or hearing each line:

X:2
T:Free and Easy (3-part chorus only)
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=138
K:E
%%MIDI program 1 25 % alto
%%MIDI program 2 41 % melody
%%MIDI program 3 33 % bass
% Uncomment the next line to suppress the chord accompaniment
% %%MIDI gchordoff
V: 1 name=Alto sname=A
B2BAG2EE | G2GAB2e2 | e3ee2B2 | c2e2d3z |
w: Oh, let the world jog a-long as it plea-ses, I'll be free and ea-sy still.
e2e2B2G2 | e2e2c2^A2 | d3ed3c | B2A2G3z ||
w: Free and ea-sy, free and ea-sy, I'll be free and ea-sy still.
%
V: 2 name=Tenor sname=T   % melody
"E"G2GFE2B,B, | E2EFG2B2 | "A"c3c "E"B2G2 | "F#7"F2^A2"B"B3z |
w: Oh, let the world jog a-long as it plea-ses, I'll be free and ea-sy still.
"E"B2B2G2E2 | "A"c2c2 "F#7"^A2F2 | "B"B3cB3A | G2F2 "E"E3z ||
w: Free and ea-sy, free and ea-sy, I'll be free and ea-sy still.
%
V: 3 name=Bass sname=B
E2EDB,2G,G, | B,2B,DE2G2 | A3AG2E2 | ^A2F2F3z |
w: Oh, let the world jog a-long as it plea-ses, I'll be free and ea-sy still.
G2G2E2B,2 | A2A2F2C2 | F3GF3E | D2C2B,3z ||
w: Free and ea-sy, free and ea-sy, I'll be free and ea-sy still.