trad
Recorded by Copper Family 1955, tune by Richard Leveridge 1740s-50s for Roast Beef of Old England, lyrics late 18th century
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