Vain And Careless

Lady, lovely lady
So careless and so vain
Once, when a beggar called
She gave her child away

The beggar took the baby
And wrapped it in a shawl
‘Bring him back,’ the lady said
‘The next time you call.’

Hard by lived a man
So vain and so proud
He would walk on stilts to be seen
To be seen by the crowd

And up above the chimney pots
Tall as a mast
All the people ran about
Shouting till he passed

‘Such a splendid match, surely,’
Neighbours saw it plain
‘Although she is so careless
Although he is so vain.’

But the lady played bobcherry
Did not see or care
As the vain man went by her
Aloft in the air

So, this gentle-born couple
Lived and died apart
Water will not mix with oil
Nor vain with careless heart