I'll sing, I'll sing of ancient days, Of ancient fashions and ancient ways, When people had no toils or cares, They sat on stools instead of chairs. In my young days when I was a child Folks lived in real old-fashioned style. O dear! O dear! I can't but grieve For the good old days of Adam and Eve. Railroad rides are all the go now, sir— Water parties, a bridge or two, These inventions are because, sir— Times ain't now as they used to was, sir, Our boys in good old Oberon read, Folks don't do now as they used to did. O dear! O dear! I can't but grieve For the good old days of Adam and Eve. The ladies once they all dressed plain, But now the girls are becoming quite vain; Their grandmas wore on their necks no laces, Wore their own hair and made their own dresses, Their little short sleeves tucked up with a button; Now they wear dashing sacque sleeves like a leg of mutton. O dear! O dear! I can't but grieve For the good old days of Adam and Eve. The young men once they acted wise In getting up early to see the lark rise; But now our Toms and Jerrys gay, They see the lark by night and not by day. They spree and revel, in all their varieties, They pay no regard to the temperance societies,— O dear! O dear! I can't but grieve For the good old days of Adam and Eve. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...RHAPSODY ON A WINDY NIGHT by THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT THE BEGGAR'S OPERA: SONG. AIR 16: OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY by JOHN GAY MEMORY by AMANDA LUELLA BARLOW THE SINGERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) RETURN TO TOMHANICK by ANN ELIZA BLEECKER THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH; LAST POEM, ROME, MAY, 1861 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING |