 | Songs of two centuries |  |
135
TOOK JOHNNIE TO THE SHOW.
Poor little Johnnie longed to go
And see the show;
Like any simple trusting lad
Who viewed the walls in pictures clad,
Of men who lived on horses' backs,
Or climbed each other's heads in stacks,
Or drivelled dressed in stripes and spots,
Or tied themselves in double knots,
Or metamorphosed into wheels,
Or swung each other by the heels,
Or, placid, led unblemished lives
Amid a fusillade of knives,
Or punched the lion while he roared,
Or with their heads his mouth explored:—
You would yourself have longed to go
And see the show!
And see the show;
Like any simple trusting lad
Who viewed the walls in pictures clad,
Of men who lived on horses' backs,
Or climbed each other's heads in stacks,
Or drivelled dressed in stripes and spots,
Or tied themselves in double knots,
Or metamorphosed into wheels,
Or swung each other by the heels,
Or, placid, led unblemished lives
Amid a fusillade of knives,
Or punched the lion while he roared,
Or with their heads his mouth explored:—
You would yourself have longed to go
And see the show!
Then Johnnie's father said, “Although
I loathe, abhor, and hate the show,
I feel that little John should go,
The curious animals to see;
'Twould never do—so little grown—
For him to wander round alone:
My little boy shall go with me.”
And Johnnie's mother—prudent dame—
And Johnnie's auntie, felt the same;
And Johnnie's Uncle Lemuel,
His second cousin, Samuel,
His older sister, Mary,
And Susan Ann and Sarah,
His brother and his brotherinlaw,
His father's cautious motherinlaw,
And others, went along with him
To see that nought was wrong with him;
'Twas not a sin to take, you know,
Poor Johnnie to the show!
I loathe, abhor, and hate the show,
I feel that little John should go,
The curious animals to see;
'Twould never do—so little grown—
For him to wander round alone:
My little boy shall go with me.”
And Johnnie's mother—prudent dame—
And Johnnie's auntie, felt the same;
And Johnnie's Uncle Lemuel,
His second cousin, Samuel,
His older sister, Mary,
And Susan Ann and Sarah,
136
His father's cautious motherinlaw,
And others, went along with him
To see that nought was wrong with him;
'Twas not a sin to take, you know,
Poor Johnnie to the show!
As any one might be afraid,
'Twas very hard, with all this aid,
For little John to see the show.
They hustled him, they jostled him,
They pulled him to and fro;
When one of them would chance to see
A knot of friends, then he or she
Would grasp the urchin by the hand,
So all the world would understand
That they had simply come, you know,
With Johnnie to the show.
And Johnnie's heart was breaking,
His lengthened arms were aching,
His pulse was wildly throbbing,
His little breath was sobbing,
When with a new and different ache
In every separate toe,
He lay at night—in his own charge—
A dreary poor and lonely one,
And murmured, “I'm the only one
Of all the family, small or large,
That didn't see the show!”
'Twas very hard, with all this aid,
For little John to see the show.
They hustled him, they jostled him,
They pulled him to and fro;
When one of them would chance to see
A knot of friends, then he or she
Would grasp the urchin by the hand,
So all the world would understand
That they had simply come, you know,
With Johnnie to the show.
And Johnnie's heart was breaking,
His lengthened arms were aching,
His pulse was wildly throbbing,
His little breath was sobbing,
When with a new and different ache
In every separate toe,
He lay at night—in his own charge—
A dreary poor and lonely one,
And murmured, “I'm the only one
Of all the family, small or large,
That didn't see the show!”
| Songs of two centuries | |