Probably printed to mark the Newcastle-Carlisle railway, 1838 and/or the Newcastle & Shields, 1839
Now folks I will tell you although I'm no clown¹
By steam you may ride with speed up and down
Now that's all the go, and I'll tell you for why
The people are eager for to learn to fly
Chorus : You may travel by steam, so the folks say
All over the world, upon the Railway
The day that it opened I recollect well
What bustle there was in the morning I'll tell
With lads and young lasses so bucksome¹ and gay
Delighted and talking about the railway
To view the rail-road away they did go
Tis a great undertaking as you very well know
It surpasses all others believe it's true
There's a tunnel a mile that you have to go through
There are coaches and carts to accommodate all
The lame and the lazy, the great and the small
If you wish to ride, to be sure you must pay
To see all the fun that's upon the railway
How pleasant it is to see them indeed
The long train of carriages go with such speed
O dear Mrs Bustlerump, here is your daughter
She will be ruu (sic) over with the boiling hot water
The cobbler left the old shoes in the shop
Old women on crutches were seen for to hop
The tailor his customers would not obey
But rode on his goose¹ to see the railway.
What a treat for young lovers to see Gretna_Greenº
The blacksmith will tie the knot for them by steam
With his hammer and anvil he will make them obey
And pack them off snugly upon the railway.
There was dumpling bet with Jack the Moonraker¹
And buxom young Kate with the Butcher and Baker
And Black Sal from Sandgate with two wooden legs
To see the railroad how she trudged on her pegs
In London I've heard there is a machine
Invented for making young children by steam
Such dear little creatures full thirty a day
For young engineer(1)s to supply the railway
Talk of ships on the sea why it is all stuff¹
By water or land you may ride safe enough
If you've got money your passage to pay
You may ride to the devil upon the railway
So now my good fellows let us be free
Again fill the glasses now merry we'll be
Success to all trades in the reign of our Queen
And the boiling hot water that raises the steam.