The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley in ten volumes |
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THE GOOD, OLD-FASHIONED PEOPLE |
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 | The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley |  |
2068
THE GOOD, OLD-FASHIONED PEOPLE
When we hear Uncle Sidney tell
About the long-ago
An' old, old friends he loved so well
When he was young—My-oh!—
Us childern all wish we'd ‘a’ bin
A-livin' then with Uncle,—so
We could a-kind o' happened in
On them old friends he used to know!—
The good, old-fashioned people—
The hale, hard-working people—
The kindly country people
'At Uncle used to know!
About the long-ago
An' old, old friends he loved so well
When he was young—My-oh!—
Us childern all wish we'd ‘a’ bin
A-livin' then with Uncle,—so
We could a-kind o' happened in
On them old friends he used to know!—
The good, old-fashioned people—
The hale, hard-working people—
The kindly country people
'At Uncle used to know!
They was God's people, Uncle says,
An' gloried in His name,
An' worked, without no selfishness,
An' loved their neighbers same
As they was kin: An' when they biled
Their tree-molasses, in the Spring,
Er butchered in the Fall, they smiled
An' sheered with all jist ever'thing!—
The good, old-fashioned people—
The hale, hard-working people—
The kindly country people
'At Uncle used to know!
An' gloried in His name,
An' worked, without no selfishness,
An' loved their neighbers same
As they was kin: An' when they biled
Their tree-molasses, in the Spring,
Er butchered in the Fall, they smiled
An' sheered with all jist ever'thing!—
The good, old-fashioned people—
The hale, hard-working people—
The kindly country people
'At Uncle used to know!
2069
He tells about 'em, lots o' times,
Till we'd all ruther hear
About 'em than the Nurs'ry Rhymes
Er Fairies—mighty near!—
Only, sometimes, he stops so long
An' then talks on so low an' slow,
It's purt' nigh sad as any song
To listen to him talkin' so
Of the good, old-fashioned people
The hale, hard-working people—
The kindly country people
'At Uncle used to know!
Till we'd all ruther hear
About 'em than the Nurs'ry Rhymes
Er Fairies—mighty near!—
Only, sometimes, he stops so long
An' then talks on so low an' slow,
It's purt' nigh sad as any song
To listen to him talkin' so
Of the good, old-fashioned people
The hale, hard-working people—
The kindly country people
'At Uncle used to know!
| The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley | |