Daddy’s gone to London

From the 1896 (US) sheet music:

On the road to New York tramp'd a poor, hard-working man;
Long he fought misfortune, as but good men only can:
his darling wife and little ones he'd left, in grief, behind,
But thro' his weary trudging they were ever In his mind.
When they miss'd their Dada And they saw their Mamma's tears,
"Mamma, what you crying for?" would ask the Little dears;
"Why is Daddy not at home? Oh! has he gone away?"
Trying, through her tears, to cheer her darlings, she would say:

Daddy's gone to New York, where the streets are paved with gold;
Daddy's gone to New York, where the poor are never cold:
There's dolls and toys for the girls and boys, and as for baby Jack,
He shall have a hubby horse when Dad comes back.

Hungry, worn, and footsore, came the Dad to New York town;
No one would employ him, he was weak and broken down;
For thousands there were starving, seeking work the same as he;
And but for those he left behind, he'd end his misery.
Those at home were starving too, the cupboard grew more bare,
Vainly cried the children for a crust, but none was there.
Little things went, one by one, a scant meal to provide.
Still, although heart-broken, to her babes the mother cried:-

Every heart is not of stone, the poor assist the poor:
Fainting fell the man, one night, outside a cottage door;
But quickly was he carried in, they guessed his story sad.
And brought him to, and made him share, not much, but all they had.
Many can help one, and soon the humble hat went 'round,
Nobler hearts than New York's poor, don't dwell on Yankee ground.
He got work, and now his home's us bright as day is long;
Happy mother, happy children, now join in the song