Aw remember the days o’ me bell-button jacket,
Wi its little lappels hanging down ower mi waist,
And my grand bellosed cap,—noan nicer I’ll back it,—
Fer her at hed bowt it wor noan without taste;
Fer sho wor mi mother an’ I wor her darling,
An offen sho vowed it, and stroked dahn mi hair,
An sho tuke me to see her relations e Harden,
It furst Pair o’ Briches it ivver aw ware.

Aw remember the time when Aunt Betty an’ Alice
Send fer me up to lewk at mi cloas,
An aw wauked up as prahd as a Frenchman fra Calais,
Wi’ me tassel at side, e mi jacket a rose.
Aw sooin saw mi uncles, both Johnny an’ Willy,
Thay both gav me pennys an off aw did steer:
But aw heeard um say this, “He’s a fine lad is Billy,
It furst Pair o’ Briches at ivver he ware.”

Aw remember the time are Robin an’ Johnny
Wor keeping ther hens an’ ducks e the yard,
There wor gamecocks and bantams, wi’ toppins so bonny
An noan on um mine, aw thowt it wor hard.
But aw saved up mi pennies aw gat fer mail pickin’
An sooin gat a shilling by saving it fair,
Aw then became maister at least o’ wun chicken,
It furst Pair o’ Briches at ivver aw ware.

Aw remember wun Sabbath, an t’ sun it wor shining,
Aw went wi mi father ta Hainworth, to sing
An t’ stage wor hung raand wi green cotton lining;
And childer e white made t’ village ta ring.
We went ta auld Mecheck’s that day to wor drinking,
Tho’ poor, ther wor plenty, an’ summat ta spare;
Says Mecheck, “That lad, Jim, is just thee, aw’m thinking,
It furst Pair o’ Briches at ivver tha ware.”

Now them wor the days o’ grim boggards and witches,
When Will-o’-the-wisp cud be seen in the swamp,
But nah is the days o’ cheating fer riches,
And a poor honist man is classed wi a scamp.
Yes, them wor the days at mi mind worrant weary;
O them wor the days aw knew no despair;
O give me the time o’ the boggard and fairy,
Wi’t furst Pair o’ Briches at ivver aw ware.

And them wor the days aw sal allus remember,
Sud aw just as oud as Methuslah last;
Them wor mi March days, but nah its September:
Ne’er to return again—them days are past.
But a time aw remember aboon onny other,
Aw kneeled o’ mi knees an sed the Lord’s Prayer;
Aw sed God bless me father, an God bless mi mother,
It furst Pair o’ Briches at ivver aw ware.