Swapping Song

Lyrics

(Folk song)

When I was a little boy, I lived by myself,
And all the bread and cheese I had I kept upon the shelf,

Refrain
Wing wong waddle, to my jack straw saddle,
To my Johnny fair faddle, to my long ways home.

The rats and the mice, they led me such a life,
I had to go to London to get myself a wife. Refrain

The roads were so long and the lanes were so narrow,
I had to bring her home in an old wheelbarrow. Refrain

The wheelbarrow broke and my wife got a fall,
Down came a wheelbarrow, wife and all. Refrain

Swapped my wheelbarrow and got me a horse,
Then I rode from cross to cross. Refrain

Swapped my more and got me a mule,
Then I rode like a doggone fool. Refrain

Swapped my mule and got me a goat,
When I got on him, he wouldn’t tote. Refrain

Swapped my goat and got me a sheep,
Then I rode myself to sleep. Refrain

Swapped my sheep and got me a cow,
And in that trade I just learned how. Refrain

Swapped my cow and got me a calf,
In that trade I just lost half. Refrain

Swapped my calf and got me a hen,
O, what a pretty thing I had then. Refrain

Swapped my hen and got me a rat,
Put it on the haystack away from the cat. Refrain

Swapped my rat and got me a mouse,
Its tail caught afire and burned up my house. Refrain

Swapped my mouse and got me a mole,
The doggone thing went straight to its hole. Refrain