Their small corner

urn:iso:std:iso:639:ed-3:eng

90-91

text excerpt

My Father had two songs he was often called upon to sing. The one was amusing with lots of names. I am not sure I remember them all but they went something like this:-

My Father and Mother were excellent folk

They both had a weakness for practical jokes,

So when I was born they were both of one mind

They declared I should have all the names they could find.

Then the chorus:

They were Jonathan, Joseph, Jerimiah,

Timothy, Titus, Obediah,

William, Henry, Walter, Sid,

Reuben, Rufus, Solomon, Jim,

Nathaniel, Daniel, Abraham,

Simon, Ryman, Nicholas, Pat,

Christopher, Dick and Josophat. 

People liked to join the chorus. There were three verses, the second about getting married and the third about the buriel [sic] of course. 

Father’s other song was one full of pathos and tears ran down the faces of some of those present when he sang it. The old folk were very sentimental despite their hard lives. 

Father’s song started:--

Are we to part like this Bill?

Are we to part in this way?

Who’s it to be, you or me?

Don’t be afraid to say. 

If everything’s over between us

Don’t ever pass me by

For you and me still friends can be

For the sake of those days gone by.

excerpt from 'Their small corner' pp. 90-91 (227 words)

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