This is in response to JeffB, who posted on 01 Aug 2008. (What is the chance he'll see this?)

From The Children's Garland of Verse edited by Grace Little Rhys (London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1921), page 91:


THE CARTER AND HIS TEAM

I was once a bold fellow, and went with a team,
And all my delight was in keeping them clean,
With brushes and curries I'd show their bright colour,
And the name that they gave me was "a hearty good fellow."

As every evening I went to my bed
The thought of my horses came into my head.
I rose in the morning to give them their meat
As soon as I got my shoes on my feet.

The first was a white horse, as white as the milk;
The next was a grey horse, as soft as the silk;
The next was a brown horse, as sleek as a mole;
The last was a great horse, as black as a coal.

As I went a-driving all on the highway,
When light went my load, then I fed them with hay;
And watered them very well, when we came to a pond.
(And after they've drunk, boys, go steady beyond.)

My feet they grew weary as I walked by their side;
I said to my mate, "I will get up and ride."
And as I was riding I made a new song,
And as I did sing it, you must learn it along.

[Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman sing a similar song, which they call THE CARTER, on "Bonnet & Shawl" (1996).]