My Old Brown Coat and Me

Oh, the moon was out,the stars were bright,the larks were singin' free
Come listen while I sing about my old brown coat and me

I lived upon my father's farm 'til I was twenty-one
I took a farm then of my own and a man's life begun

I fell in love with Mary Bray, her father owned a store
There never was a girl beloved so tenderly before

But Mary Bray was very proud and haughty as could be
She 'oft times said that she'd not wed my old brown coat and me

I did not stop to plead the case for pleading was in vain
I bade adieu to Mary Bray, ne'er saw her face again

There's forty summers o'er my head, there's riches in my store
My children play out on the green, my wife stands in the door

I've land enough, I've money enough, I've houses tall and high
There's not a squire in all this land can wear such clothes as I

Now Mary Bray was very proud and haughty as could be
She was wedded to a lawyer's son who's name was Joe Talle

He wore a coat of shiny black and looked so very grand
That Mary fancied he would make a noble and true man

Now, Mary's husband, he became a pirate on the sea
She 'oft times said she'd wished she'd wed my old brown coat and me

Now girls, when you are false accused, the like that bends the knee
Then count the fate of Mary Bray, my old brown coat and me

Remember that an old brown coat and not so very grand
Can cover up as warm a heart as any in the land