Lyr Add: Jack's Wooden Leg

Subject: Lyr Add: Jack's Wooden Leg
From: *#1 PEASANT*
Date: 22 Jun 04 - 07:13 AM

Jack's Wooden Leg

Tune-"Wonderful Tallygrip."

'Taws in the White House some queer cheps did for-gether,
One Saturday neet when theyu war on the spree,
An' frae what aw cud hear 'mang the noise and the blether,
There wis somethin' wonderful they had for ti see.
A duzen or mair war set at a tyeble,
The head o' the company was stuck on a keg;
A cheppy tuik kelter as fasat's he was yeble,
There war gan for ti raffle aud Jack's wooden leg.

Aw joined in the set when aw herd what the gam was,
An' blithely aw tyebled maw brass in a crack,
For I' maw young days when aw was a laddie
Weel aw was liked bi' aud wooden-legged Jack.
An' sair, sair did aw greeve when aw herd ov his end, man,
How for a bite the puir chep had ti beg;
He oft had sair wark for ti myek a bit fend, man,
An' noo they wad raffle his aud wooden leg.

When the nyems war a' reckin'd, there wis a hundred duzen
Ov fellows determined ti try at thor luck;
Th gam wis begun by Bill Bowden's greet cuzen,
Whe cawd us the cheps for showing British pluck.
He thrawed fifteen, which was considered a wunder,
Another got five for ti hang on his peg;
But Bill Thompson, the trimmer, gar'd Bill's cuzen knock under,
For he thrawed eighteen for Jack's wooden leg.

Aw gat up the dice an' them aw did rattle,
For aw felt sartin and sure for ti win
Aw thowt with the best aw wad gie them gud battle,
For the leg ti gan past me wad be a greet sin.
Aw thowt o' the times when aw'd see him stot bi me
Beside the Black House on his aud wooden peg;
Aw'd gien him a hawpenny when he cam nigh me,
Ti help for drink for his aud wooden leg.

Hurrah! noo, me lads, aw've thrawn the two duzen,
Come, try an' beat that thraw if ye can;
Muckle-gobed Mat he thrawed three-an'-twenty,
But Bowdy-kites Billy's thraw showed him a man;
For he took up the dice, an' he garr'd them a' gingle,
He thrawed for-an'-twenty alang wi' Daft Peg.
The three on us paddled, but aw gaw them a tingle,
For aw tuik off the prize o' Jack's wooden leg.

Aw ga'd ti the cheps that they caw Anty Quaries,
That I' wor aud Cassel myek sic a gran seet;
It's placed 'mang the steyns, and the greet nicky nackies,
And for fowerpence ye may see'd ony holiday neet.
At thor varry last meeting me sair they did flatter,
An' famed Dr. Bruce, tee, said he would beg
That they ask Robert White for ti tyek up the matter,
An' gie them the History o' Jack's Wooden Leg.

-William Henderson Dawson, 1862.

John Stephenson, better known as Wood-Lgged Jack, died October 15, 1862, whilst in the act of eating a morsel of food, which he had from two men in the White House, Pilgrim Street. Manyu carriers then frequented Pilgrim Street, and Jack picked up a living going messages for them. The following whimsical fancy was written at the time of his death, on hearing that it was intended to raffle his wooden leg.