Page:Ballads·of·Bung•E·Iveagh·Lord•1921.pdf/7

 And a lovely lady helped me, when she saw me down, Next day when in the village I met one Bookie Lung And tried to get him shicker, I might as well have flung My silver in the ocean—he kept as right as pie. Only one of us was shicker, and the one of us was I, So I decided to go to by-bye—I decided to go to bed Anywhere ever so lowly, to lay my buzzy head. So I pulled myself together as well as I was able, And then I went to bye-bye—in a manger—in a stable. And as I slept some beautiful dreams, came floating down to me— I was all alone in a Brewery, with nobody there to see. I’d landed a thousand doubles. On each knee as angel sat! I dreamt—here what’s the matter? God, I thought that was a rat! But ’twas only Bung, the Bookie, saying, “Chummy arise!” “Of all the books in the vineyard, you’ll surely get the prize.” I answered him straight and even, “There’s better men than me, Slept asleep in a stable—but never a word said he.” He looked at me sort of reproachful, and sadly shook his head, I don’t mind roaring, but silence! That gets me seeing red. So I blurted straight out at him, “God in a stable was born!” And he crumpled up with laughter. But he I want to warn That I’ve readied Sexton McDiarmid to dig a hole wide and deep And I’m going to put him to bye-bye—I’m going to put him to sleep Citizens, cheer and loudly applaud— Next, Bung the Bookie— And now kind Citizens let me tell, the story of a great farewell, How the old mob honoured a man they knew—knew to be dinkum through and through— A man who’d gone right thro’ the mill, yet was laughing and fighting still—