if I were a duchess -- 1885

Speranza 1885 the boy I love is up in the gallery, the boy I love is looking now at me there he is, can't you see waving his handkerchee as merry as a robin that sings on a tree. I'm a young girl, and have just come over over from the country where they do things big, and amongst the boys I've got a lover, and since I've got a lover, why I don't care a fig. the boy that I love, they call him a cobbler, but he's not a cobbler, allow me to state. for Johnny is a tradesman and he works in the Boro'1 where they sole and heel them, whilst you wait. now, If I were a Duchess and had a lot of money, I'd give it to the boy that's going to marry me. but I haven't got a penny, so we'll live on love and kisses, and be just as happy as the birds on the tree. George Ware, 1885 – written for the music-hall "star" Miss Nelly Power.