One day when I went out to work
A job I went to seek
To be a farmer's lass
At last I found an easy job
At fifty cents a week
To be a farmer's lass
The farmer says, "I think I've got
The very job for you
Your duties will be light
And this is all you've got to do
Rise at three ev'ry morn
Milk the cow with the crumpled horn
Feed the pigs, clean the sty
Teach the pigeons the way to fly
Plough the fields, mow the hay
Help the cocks and the hens to lay
Sow the seeds, tend the crops
Chase the flies from the turnip tops
Clean the knives, black the shoes
Scrub the kitchen and sweep the flues
Help the wife, wash the pots
Grow the cabbages and carrots
Skim the milk, make the cheese
Chop the meat for the sausages
Bathe the kids, mend their clothes
Use your broom to scare the crows
Shoe the horse, break the coal
Take the cat for his midnight stroll
Cook the food, scrub the stairs
Teach the parrot to say his prayers
Roast the joint, bake the bread
Shake the feathers up in the bed
When the wife's got the gout
Rub her funny bone
And then if there's no more work to do
The rest of the day's your own
I thought it was a shame
To take the money you can bet
To be a farmer's lass
And so I wrote me duties down
In case I should forget
I was a farmer's lass
It took all night to write them down
I didn't go to bed
But somehow it got all mixed up
And this is how they read
Rise at three ev'ry morn
Milk the hen with the crumpled horn
Scrub the wife ev'ry day
Teach the nanny goat how to lay
Shave the cat, mend the cheese
Fit the tights in the sausages
Bathe the pigs, break the pots
Boil the kids with a few carrots
Roast the horse, dust the bread
Put the cows and the hens to bed
Boots and shoes black with chalk
Shave the hair on the pickled pork
All the rest I forgot
Somehow it had flown
But I got the sack this morning, so
The rest of me life's me own