trad
Recorded by Copper Family 1955, tune by Richard Leveridge 1740s-50s for Roast Beef of Old England, lyrics late 18th century
Roy Bailey: Hard Times of Old England
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R9kWdERx7s
Come all working people who travel alone And pray come and tell me where the work has all gone Long time I have travelled and never found none Chorus: And it’s oh the hard times of old England In England very hard times Provisions you buy from a shop, it is true But if you’ve got no money, there’s none there for you So what are poor folk and their families to do You go to the shop and you ask for a job They answer you there with a shake and nod ‘Tis enough to make poor folk to turn out and rob You see working people a-walking the street From morning till night for employment to seek And scarcely they have any shoes to their feet Soldiers and sailors have just come from war Been fighting for Queen and for country sure Come home to be starved, better have stayed where they were