Five Excellent New Songs (Stirling)/The Beggar Girl
For other versions of this work, see The Beggar Girl.
THE BEGGAR GIRL.
Over the mountain and over the moor,Hungry and barefoot I wander forlorn;My father is dead and my mother is poor,And she grieves for the days that will never returnPity, kind gentlemen, friends of humanity;Cold blows the wind, and the night's coming on;Give me some food for my mother in charityGive me some food, and then I'll be gone.
Call me not lazy back beggar, and bold enough;Fain would I learn both to knit and to sew;I've two little brothers at home,—when they're old enough,They will work hard for the gifts you bestow.Pity kind gentlemen, &c.
O think, while you revel so careless and free,Secure from all harm, both well clothed and fedShould fortune so change it, how hard it would be,To beg at a door for a morsel of bread.Pity, kind gentlemen, &c.