OLD BROWN DOG   

Ralph McTell

That old brown dog sleeps in the rain
Unless the sun has shone.
That old brown dog is all alone,
Since Old Bill been gone.
And sleeping in the rain
Only gives a dog a bad name.
If Bill were alive
Well I know he would decide
To have the same thing done.

That old brown dog he smells so bad,
Say the people from the town.
That old brown dog is almost lame,
Someone should put him down.
It would be an act of kindness,
You know it's for the best.
You bring a rope, bring a gun,
And it'll all be over
Before the dog can guess.

Could an old brown dog have become wise
Guessed they were all after him.
His hearing was failing, and his eyes
Were fast growing dim.
On the day they came to kill him
He sensed a rabbit on a log.
Did anybody see a rabbit
Chased across the meadows
By an old brown dog.

That old brown dog, tail wagging,
As he laid himself down.
It did not seam to matter,
That the rabbit had long gone to ground.
And there in the summer heat,
His old heart ceased to beat
And high above the meadow
The skylarks singing as the spark went out.