The Mooch O' Life

This ev'nin' I was sittin' wiv Doreen,
   Peaceful an' 'appy wiv the day's work done,
Watchin', be'ind the orchard's bonzer green,
   The flamin' wonder of the settin' sun.
 
Another day gone by; another night
Creepin' along to douse Day's golden light;
   Another dawning when the night is gone,
   To live an' love - an' so life mooches on.
 
Times I 'ave thought, when things was goin' crook,
   When 'Ope turned nark an' Love forgot to smile,
Of somethin' I once seen in some old book
   Where an ole sorehead arsts, 'Is life worf w'ile? '
 
But in that stillness, as the day grows dim,
An' I am sittin' there wiv 'er an' 'im-
   My wife, my son! an' strength in me to strive,
   I only know - it's good to be alive!
 
Yeh live, yeh love, yeh learn; an' when yeh come
   To square the ledger in some thortful hour,
The everlastin' answer to the sum
   Must allus be, 'Where's sense in gittin' sour? '
 
Fer when yeh've come to weigh the good an' bad -
The gladness wiv the sadness you 'ave 'ad -
   Then 'im 'oo's faith in 'uman goodness fails
   Fergits to put 'is liver in the scales.
 
Livin' an' loving learnin' day be day;
   Pausin' a minute in the barmy strife
To find that 'elpin' others on the way
   Is gold coined fer your profit - sich is life.
 
I've studied books wiv yearnings to improve,
To 'eave meself out of me lowly groove,
   An' 'ere is orl the change I ever got:
   ''Ark at yer 'eart, an' you kin learn the lot.'
 
I gives it in - that wisdom o' the mind -
   I wasn't built to play no lofty part.
Orl such is welkim to the joys they find;
   I only know the wisdom o' the 'eart.
 
An' ever it 'as taught me, day be day,
The one same lesson in the same ole way:
   'Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
   Fer 'atin' never paid no dividends.'
 
Life's wot yeh make it; an' the bloke 'oo tries
To grab the shinin' stars frum out the skies
   Goes crook on life, an' calls the world a cheat,
   An' tramples on the daisies at 'is feet.
 
But when the moon comes creepin' o'er the hill,
   An' when the mopoke calls along the creek,
I takes me cup o' joy an' drinks me fill,
   An' arsts meself wot better could I seek.
 
An' ev'ry song I 'ear the thrushes sing
That everlastin' message seems to bring;
   An' ev'ry wind that whispers in the trees
   Gives me the tip there ain't no joys like these:
 
Livin' an' loving wand'rin' on yeh way;
   Reapin' the 'arvest of a kind deed done;
An' watching in the sundown of yer day,
   Yerself again, grown nobler in yer son.
 
Knowin' that ev'ry coin o' kindness spent
Bears interest in yer 'eart at cent per cent;
   Measurin' wisdom by the peace it brings
   To simple minds that values simple things.
 
An' when I take a look along the way
   That I 'ave trod, it seems the man knows best,
Who's met wiv slabs of sorrer in 'is day,
   When 'e is truly rich an' truly blest.
 
An' I am rich, becos me eyes 'ave seen
The lovelight in the eyes of my Doreen;
   An' I am blest, becos me feet 'ave trod
   A land 'oo's fields reflect the smile o' God.
 
Livin' an' lovin'; learnin' to fergive
   The deeds an' words of some un'appy bloke
Who's missed the bus - so 'ave I come to live,
   An' take the 'ole mad world as 'arf a joke.

Sittin' at ev'nin' in this sunset-land,
Wiv 'Er in all the World to 'old me 'and,
   A son, to bear me name when I am gone....
   Livin' an' lovin' - so life mooches on.