Lady, lovely lady,
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Careless and gay!
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Once when a beggar called
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She gave her child away.
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The beggar took the baby,
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Wrapped it in a shawl,
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"Bring her back," the lady said,
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"Next time you call."
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Hard by lived a vain man,
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So vain and so proud,
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He walked on stilts
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To be seen by the crowd.
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Up above the chimney pots,
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Tall as a mast,
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And all the people ran about
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Shouting till he passed.
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"A splendid match surely,"
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Neighbours saw it plain,
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"Although she is so careless,
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Although he is so vain."
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But the lady played bobcherry,
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Did not see or care,
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As the vain man went by her
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Aloft in the air.
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This gentle-born couple
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Lived and died apart.
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Water will not mix with oil,
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Nor vain with careless heart.
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Vain And Careless
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| Natalie Merchant |
