A 1928 popular song.
Words and music by Harry McClintock (known as “Mac”).
He also wrote and sang “The Big Rock Candy Mountain”.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
1. Come all you jolly jokers
And listen while I hum
A story I’ll relate to you
Of the great American Bum
From the East, the West, the North, the South
Like a swarm of bees they come
We sleep in the dirt and wear a shirt
That is dirty and full of crumbs
2. Oh it’s early in the morning
And the dew is off the ground
The Bum arises from his nest
And gazes all around
From the boxcar and the haystack
He gazes everywhere
He never turns back upon his track
Until he gets a square
3. I beat my way from Frisco Bay
To the rock bound coast of Maine
To Canada and Mexico
Then wandered back again
I’ve met town clowns and harness “bulls”
As tough as a cop could be
And I’ve been in ever calaboose
In this Land of Liberty
4. I’ve topped the spruce and worked the sluice
And taken a turn at the plow
I’ve searched for gold in the rain and cold
And worked on a river scow
I’ve dug the clam and built the dam
And packed the elusive prune
But my troubles pale when I hit the trail
A-padlin’ my own balloon
5. Oh a-standin’ in the railroad yard
A-waitin’ for a train
A-waitin’ for a West bound freight
But think it’s all in vain
Going East they’re loaded
Going West sealed tight
I think we’ll have to get aboard
The fast Express tonight
6. Oh lady would you be kind enough
To give me something to eat
A piece of bread and butter
And a ten foot slice of meat
A piece of pie and custard
To tickle my appetite
For really I’m so hungry
I don’t know where to sleep tonight
7. Oh sleepin’ against the station
Tra-la-la-la-la-lation
Well that’s our recommendation
Hurrah, Hurree, Hurrum
For we’re three Bums, three jolly old Bums
We live like royal Turks
We have good luck a-bummin’ our chuck
And never bother to work
8. I met a man the other day
I never had met before
He asked me if I wanted a job
A-shovlin’ iron ore
I asked him what the wages were
And he said “Ten cents a ton”
I said “Old feller go chase yourself
I’d rather be on the bum”
9. Oh sleepin’ in the pogies
Ogie, Ogie, Ogies
A-smokin’ snipes and stogies
Hurrah, Hurree, Hurrum
For we’re three Bums, three jolly old Bums
We live like royal Turks
We have good luck a-bummin’ our chuck
God bless the man that works