Poetry Archives

Oh, I would live in a dairy,
   And its Colin I would be,
And many a rustic fairy
   Should churn the milk with me.

Or the fields should be my pleasure,
   And my flocks should follow me,
Piping a frolic measure
   For Joan or Marjorie.

For the town is black and weary,
   And I hate the London street;
But the country ways are cheery,
   And country lanes are sweet.

Good luck to you, Paris ladies!
   Ye are over fine and nice,
I know where the country maid is,
   Who needs not asking twice.

Ye are brave in your silks and satins,
   As ye mince about the Town;
But her feet go free in pattens,
   If she wear a russet gown.

If she be not queen nor goddess
   She shall milk my brown-eyed herds,
And the breasts beneath her bodice
   Are whiter than her curds.

So I will live in a dairy,
   And its Colin I will be,
And it’s Joan that I will marry,
   Or, haply, Marjorie.