trad
Bert Lloyd wrote in 1975: “The chorus probably wasn’t new when it first appeared in print as a drinking song in a pre-Shakespeare comedy, Gammer Gurton’s Needle (1575). The rest of the words of The Beggar’s Song belong to the beginning of the 18th century” James Findlay in 2012 asserted it originated “from an old drinking song, I Cannot Eat But Little Meat, which was first printed in 1557”. Narthen in 2023 asserted the author in the 16th century was named William Stevenson.
I’d rather be a beggar than a king I’ll tell you the reason why: For a king cannot swagger, nor drink like a beggar, Nor be half so happy as I. Chorus: Let your back and sides go bare, me boys Hands and feet grow cold But give to your belly, boys, beer enough Whether it be new or old Sometimes we lie like hogs in a sty In a flock of straw on the ground Sometimes eat a crust that’s rolled in the dust And are thankful it can be found. Sometimes we call at a rich man’s hall To beg for bread and beer. Sometimes we leave with a meatpie up each sleeve, Sometimes we’re kicked out on our ears