Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BALLAD OF SIMPLE SIMON, by JOSEPH CORSON MILLER


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BALLAD OF SIMPLE SIMON, by                    
First Line: I have watered the stock and I've shoveled the dung
Last Line: Lean down, cheery moon, lean down!
Alternate Author Name(s): Miller, J. Corson
Subject(s): Labor & Laborers; Work; Workers


I have watered the stock and I've shoveled the dung --
Lean down, sleepy moon, lean down!
The squire, he says that my father was hung --
Lean down, sleepy moon, lean down!
My shoes are old, and my breeches torn,
And my hands, they are cut from husking the corn --
It's a merry old world for the masters born --
Lean down, sleepy moon, lean down!

I asked the proud master if he had any wool,
Come down, lazy moon, come down!
He said: "No siree, but gold -- bags full," --
Come down, lazy moon, come down!
O it's hard work for Simon, in the crib and the stall --
Sure the bees that hive the honey, get none of it at all --
The squire says my father loved to drink and brawl --
Come down, lazy moon, come down!

The squire's got a daughter with a face like a flower,
Dance down, silver moon, dance down!
One night she smiled upon me, and I cried for an hour --
Dance down, silver moon, dance down!
It's the sweets for the sweet, and the smart get the gold,
The squire's wife is sour, and she's seventy years old,
But it's sweat and swear for Simon in the heat and the cold,
Dance down, silver moon, dance down!

My old hound, Tim, is my only friend --
Lean down, cheery moon, lean down!
How many times I wished the world would end --
Lean down, cheery moon, lean down!
The squire says my mother was a drunken hag --
The squire knows his mother was a dirty rag --
But who cares for Simon and his crazy nag?
Lean down, cheery moon, lean down!





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