{"id":1988,"date":"2020-04-06T19:34:24","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T19:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=1988"},"modified":"2025-12-24T07:30:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:30:30","slug":"the-rest-of-the-days-your-own","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/the-rest-of-the-days-your-own\/","title":{"rendered":"Rest of the day’s your own, The"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>To be a farmer’s boy<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Lyrics<\/strong><\/td>Worton David<\/td>Music<\/strong><\/td> JP Long<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN1485<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Music Hall performers<\/strong><\/td>Jack Lane 1915<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Cyrill Phillips, 1960
George Belton, ca 1972<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
One day when I was out of work a job I went to seek\nTo be a farmer's boy\nAt last I found an easy job at half-a-crown a week\nTo be a farmer's boy\nThe farmer said, 'I think I've got the very job for you\nYour duties will be light, for this is all you've got to do.\n\nRise at three every morn,\nMilk the cow with the crumpled horn\nFeed the pigs, clean the sty,\nTeach the pigeons the way to fly\nPlough the fields, mow the hay,\nHelp the cocks and hens to lay\nSow the seed, tend the crops,\nChase the flies from the turnip tops\nClean the knives, black the shoes\nScrub the kitchen and sweep the flues\nHelp the wife, wash the pots\nGrow the cabbages and carrots\nMake the beds, bust the coals\nMend the gramophone\nAnd then if there's no more work to do\nThe rest of the Day's your own.<\/em>\n\nI scratched my head and thought it would be absolutely prime\nTo be a farmer's boy\nThe farmer said you'll have to do some overtime\nWhen you're a farmer's boy\nSaid he, 'The duties that I've given you, you'll be quickly through\nSo I've been thinking of a few more things that you can do'\n\n'Skim the milk, make the cheese,\nChop the meat for the sausagees\nBath their kids, mend their clothes\nUse your dial to scare the crows\nIn the milk put the chalk\nShave the nobs off the pickled pork\nShoe the horse, break the coal\nTake the cat for his midnight stroll\nCook the food, scrub the stairs\nTeach the parrot to say his prayers\nRoast the joint, bake the bread\nShake the feathers up in the bed\nWhen the wife's got the gout\nRub her funny-bone\nAnd if there's no more work to do\nThe rest of the Day's your own.<\/em>\n\nI thought it was a shame to take the money, you can bet\nTo be a farmer's boy\nAnd so I wrote my duties down in case I should forget\nI was a farmer's boy\nIt took all night to write 'em down, I didn't go to bed\nBut somehow I got all mixed up, and this is how they read.\n\nRise at three, every morn\nMilk the hen with a crumpled horn\nScrub the wife every day\nTeach the nanny-goat how to lay\nShave the cat, mend the cheese\nFit the tights on the sausagees\nBath the pigs, break the pots\nBoil the kids with a few carrots\nRoast the horse, dust the bread\nPut the cocks and hens to bed\nBoots and shoes, black with chalk\nShave the hair on the pickled pork\nAll the rest I forget, somehow it had flown\nBut I got the sack this morning\nSo the rest of the Day's my own.<\/em><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This song is sometimes described as a parody of “The Farmer’s Boy”, one of the most popular and widely collected English folk songs (Roud 408). The line “to be a Farmer’s boy” appears in both songs, with a similar melody, but the rest of the song is quite different, so its certainly not a parody in any straightforward sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collected from traditional singers in the South of England: by Ken Stubbs from the singing of Cyril Phillips, 1960<\/a>, and by Keith Summers from the singing of George Belton, ca 1972<\/a>. Cyril Phillips described it as perhaps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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“the oldest song in my repertoire … a song about a boy working on a farm. A man named Kemp Scott used to sing it at the village smoking concerts in the twenties. He was a good entertainer and I remember him from Eastbourne.”<\/p>\nMudcat.org<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Despite this, its pretty clear that Kemp Scott got it directly or indirectly, from the Halls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lyrics were written by Worton David (1872-1940), a writer who churned out hundreds of songs, working with a variety of composers. As a young man he worked in a solicitors office, but his skill at writing stories and drawing cartoons saw him employed by the Leeds Mercury, a position which required him to regularly attend the Leeds Empire. This was the beginning of his relationship with the Halls. His songwriting and financial acumen were such that he eventually set up his own publishing company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jack Lane<\/a> appears to have been a music Hall performer who was initially successful in the North and Midlands. But other than this I have found out little about him, so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n