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| WHEER ’asta beän saw long and meä liggin’ ’ere aloän? | |
| Noorse? thourt nowt o’ a noorse: whoy, Doctor’s abeän an’ agoän: | |
| Says that I moänt ’a naw moor aäle: but I beänt a fool: | |
| Git ma my aäle, fur I beänt a-gawin’ to breäk my rule. | |
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| Doctors, they knaws nowt, fur a says what’s nawways true: | 5 |
| Naw soort o’ koind o’ use to saäy the things that a do. | |
| I ’ve ’ed my point o’ aäle ivry noight sin’ I beän ’ere. | |
| An’ I ’ve ’ed my quart ivry market-noight for foorty year. | |
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| Parson ’s a beän loikewoise, an’ a sittin’ ’ere o’ my bed. | |
| “The amoighty ’s a taäkin o’ you 1 to ’issén, my friend,” a said, | 10 |
| An’ a towd ma my sins, an ’s toithe were due, an’ I gied it in hond: | |
| I done my duty boy ’um, as I ’a done boy the lond. | |
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| Larn’d a ma’ beä. I reckons I ’annot sa mooch to larn. | |
| But a cast oop, thot a did, ’bout Bessy Marris’s barne. | |
| Thaw a knaws I hallus voäted wi’ Squoire an’ choorch an’ staäte, | 15 |
| An’ i’ the woost o’ toimes I wur niver agin the raäte. | |
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| An’ I hallus coom’d to ’s chooch afoor moy Sally wur deäd, | |
| An’ ’eärd ’um a bummin’ awaäy loike a buzzard-clock 2 ower my ’eäd, | |
| An’ I niver knaw’d whot a meän’d but I thowt a ’ad summut to saäy, | |
| An’ I thowt a said whot a owt to ’a said an’ I coom’d away. | 20 |
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| Bessy Marris’s barne! tha knaws she laäid it to meä. | |
| Mowt a beän, mayhap, for she wur a bad un, sheä. | |
| ’Siver, I kep ’um, I kep ’um, my lass, tha mun understond; | |
| I done moy duty boy ’um as I ’a done boy the lond. | |
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| But Parson a cooms an’ a goäs, an’ a says it eäsy an’ freeä, | 25 |
| “The almoighty’s a taäkin o’ you to ’issén, my friend,” says ’eä. | |
| I weänt saäy men be loiars, thaw summun said it in ’aäste: | |
| But ’e reäds wonn sarmin a weeäk, an’ I ’a stubb’d Thurnaby waäste. | |
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| D’ ya moind the waäste, my lass? naw, naw, tha was not born then; | |
| Theer wur a boggle in it, I often ’eärd ’um mysen; | 30 |
| Moäst loike a butter-bump, 3 fur I ’eärd ’um about an’ about, | |
| But I stubb’d ’um oop wi’ the lot, an’ raäv’d an’ rembled ’um out. | |
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| Keäper’s it wur; fo’ they fun ’um theer a-laäid of ’is faäce | |
| Down i’ the woild enemies 4 afoor I coom’d to the plaäce. | |
| Noäks or Thimbleby—toäner 5 ’ed shot ’um as deäd as a naäil. | 35 |
| Noäks wur ’ang’d for it oop at ’soize—but git ma my aäle. | |
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| Dubbut looök at the waäste: theer warn’t not feeäd for a cow; | |
| Nowt at all but bracken an’ fuzz, an’ looök at it now— | |
| Warnt worth nowt a haäcre, an’ now theer’s lots o’ feeäd, | |
| Fourscoor 6 yows upon it an’ some on it down i’ seeäd. 7 | 40 |
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| Nobbut a bit on it ’s left, an’ I meän’d to ’a stubb’d it at fall, | |
| Done it ta-year I meän’d, an’ runn’d plow thruff it an’ all, | |
| If godamoighty an’ parson ’ud nobbut let ma aloän, | |
| Meä, wi’ haäte hoonderd haäcre o’ Squoire’s, an’ lond o’ my oän. | |
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| Do godamoighty knaw what a ’s doin’ a-taäkin’ o’ meä? | 45 |
| I beänt wonn as saws ’ere a beän an’ yonder a peä; | |
| An’ Squoire ’ull be sa mad an’ all—a’ dear a’ dear! | |
| And I ’a managed for Squoire coom Michael-mas thutty year. | |
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| A mowt ’a taäen owd Joänes, as ’ant not a ’aäpoth o’ sense, | |
| Or a mowt ’a taäen young Robins—a niver mended a fence: | 50 |
| But godamoighty a moost taäke meä an’ taäpoth ma now | |
| Wi’ aäf the cows to cauve an’ Thurnaby hoälms to plow! | |
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| Looök ’ow quoloty smoiles when they seeäs ma a passin’ boy, | |
| Says to thessén, naw doubt, “what a man a beä sewer-loy!” | |
| Fur they knaws what I beän to Squoire sin fust a coom’d to the ’All; | 55 |
| I done moy duty by Squoire an’ I done moy duty boy hall. | |
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| Squoire ’si’ Lunnon, an’ summun I reckons ’ull ’a to wroite, | |
| For whoä’s to howd the lond ater meä thot muddles ma quoit; | |
| Sartin-sewer I beä, thot a weänt niver give it to Joänes, | |
| Naw, nor a moänt to Robins—a niver rembles the stoäns. | 60 |
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| But summun ’ull come ater meä mayhap wi’ ’is kittle o’ steäm | |
| Huzzin’ an’ maäzin’ the blessed feälds wi’ the Divil’s oän teäm. | |
| Sin’ I mun doy I mun doy, thaw loife they says is sweet, | |
| But sin’ I mun doy I mun doy, for I couldn abeär to see it. | |
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| What atta stannin’ theer fur, an’ doesn bring ma the aäle? | 65 |
| Doctor’s a’ toättler, lass, an a ’s hallus i’ the owd taäle; | |
| I weaänt breäk rules fur Doctor, a knaws naw moor nor a floy; | |
| Git ma my aäle I tell tha, an’ if I mun doy I mun doy. | |
