A Merry, Blue-Eyed Laddie

Juliet Wilbur Tompkins, in “The Vassar Miscellany”

A MERRY, blue-eyed laddie goes laughing through the town,

Singing, “Hey, but the world is a gay, gay place!”

And every little lassie smooths her tumbled locks a-down,

And brings out all her dimples and hides away her frown,

And lays aside her broom and mop, the bonnie boy to chase,

Singing, “Hey, but the world is a gay, gay place!”

But away the blue-eyed laddie goes to seek another town,

Singing, “Hey, but the world is a gay, gay place!”

Then every dimple vanishes, and back comes every frown,

And every little lassie folds away her Sunday gown,

With tear-drops trickling sadly down her woful little face,

Sighing, “Hey, but the world is a sad, sad place!”