A Border Ballad

Oh, I haven't got long to live, for we all
    Die soon, e'en those who live longest;
And the poorest and weakest are taking their chance
    Along with the richest and strongest.
So it's heigho for a glass and a song,
    And a bright eye over the table,
And a dog for the hunt when the game is flush.
    And the pick of a gentleman's stable.

There is Dimmock o' Dune, he was here yester-night,
    But he's rotting to-day on Glen Arragh;
'Twas the hand o' MacPherson that gave him the blow,
    And the vultures shall feast on his marrow.
But it's heigho for a brave old song
    And a glass while we are able;
Here's a health to death and another cup
    To the bright eye over the table.

I can show a broad back and a jolly deep chest,
    But who argues now on appearance?
A blow or a thrust or a stumble at best
    May send me to-day to my clearance.
Then it's heigho for the things I love,
    My mother'll be soon wearing sable,
But give me my horse and my dog and my glass,
    And a bright eye over the table.

Credit

This poem is in the public domain.

About this Poem

"A Border Ballad" appeared in The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar (Dodd, Mead and Company, 1913).