The Oakey Strike Evictions

It was in November an' aw niver will forget,
When the pollises and the candymen at Oakey's hooses met;
Johnny the bellman he was there, a squintin roond aboot,
An' they put three men on ivery door for te torn the pitment oot.

Chorus-
Oh, what wad aa dee, if aa'd the poower mesel?
Why, aa'd bang the twenty candymen an Johnny whe carries the bell.

They went from hoose te hoose an' then they put things on the road.
But mind, they diddn't hort themselves wi' carryin heavy loads.
One would carry the poker oot, the fender or the rake,
But if they carried two at once, why, it was a great mistake.

Some o' these dandy candymen was dressed up lika cloon;
Some had hats wi'oot a flipe, an' same wi' oot a croon;
An' there was one chap with them, ay, an' a'll vow that he was warse,
For ivery time he had to stoop, why, it was a laffable farce.

Some o' them had ne laps, nor had ne buttons on thor coats,
Another had a bairnie's hippin lapped aroond his throat;
(hippin= apron)
One o' them had a pair o' breeks that belanged tiv a boy;
One leg was a sort o' tweed, an' the other was corduroy.

Next there comes the maisters, an' aa think they should be 'shemd,
Deprivin wives an' families of a comfortable yem.
An' when ye shift from where ye live, aa hope ye'll gan te hell,
Alang wi' the twenty candymen an' Johnny whe carries the bell.

-Tommy Armstrong