Broadside ballad entitled 'The Fisherman and the Monkey'

Transcription

The Fisherman
and the Monkey.

IN Greenock town, I've heard it said,
A man there lived, who to his trade
A fisher was, a rummy blade,
His freens they cawed him Dunkey, O.
Now, a sailor brither he had got,
Wha'd just come hame frae Hottentot,
And frae that savage place he brought
A full-grown, living monkey, O.

Chorus.

For four lang years, 'twas telt to me,
This sailor chiel had been to sea,
When he came hame to hae a spree,
He wasna' very funky, O.
So, wi his monkey in a box,
At Dunkey's door he quickly knocks,
And the nicht was spent wi sangs and jokes,
But he ne'er said he'd got a monkey, O.

Now ye maun ken, this sailor lad,
A sweetheart up in Glasgow had,
So to see her next day he would pad,
In spite o' freens or Dunkey, O.
Early next morning he did rise,
As the sun began to climb the skies;
Says he, Na doubt he'll get a surprise.
When he wankens and twiggs the monkey, O.

Now the monkey thocht, like human kin,
'Twas time some breakfast was brocht in;
It then began to yell and whin,
And through the room went dancing, O.
You'd thocht t'was some ane killing pigs,
For it yell'd and cut some antic riggs,
And danced some first-rate Irish jigs.
As through the house it went prancing, O.

But a' this din and wild uproar
The monkey made upon the floor;
The fisherman he loud did snore?
'Twas hard to wauken Dunkey, O.
At length he thocht 'twas time to rise,
And he looked about him wi' surprise,
For on a table he espies
A thing in the shape o' a monkey. O.

Now Dunkey jumped up to his feet,
Like lightning he ran to the street,
And twa-three fishermen he did meet,
And oh, but he felt funky, O!
He telt his story?wi' ae consent
To Dunkey's domicile they went;
And they swore they'd mak the thing repent,
Be it a man or a monkey, O.
Now the monkey at the men did stare,
For they strapped him down upon a chair,
Says ane?On his face there's ower much hair,
To shave him I'll no be funky, O.
Ane o' them ran and got some soap,
And made a lather pipin' hot,
While another held him by the throat,
Till the fisherman shaved the monkey, O.

Now the fishermen they laughed like mad,
Such fun before they never had,
When a wild young chiel, whose name was Rak
Proposed to hang the monkey, O.
Then round its neck a rope they threw,
And through a cleek the end they drew,
And quickly to the riff it flew,
For the fishermen hung the monkey, O.

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