Old man sittin' on a split rail fence.
He ain't goin' nowhere.
In his pockets 'bout fifteen cents;
Hank a' snowy white hair.
I ask'd him why he was sittin' there
Instead of sittin' in an easy chair.
He said to me with a smile so rare,
"I'm goin' to the fair."
"When fall had called out the katydids,
And I'd no hay left to mow.
To the fair I'd trot my kids
Many years ago.
They got such fun out a' ridin' the rides.
The kids of a man is what he prides
And hopes they make fine grooms and brides
When they had a chance to grow.
"So give 'em a chance to grow, I did,
And now they're married and gone.
My wife is feeble and crippled up;
At most, she sits out on the lawn.
But once a year I get out a' my chair
And traipse on down to the county fair,
And hope I'll see my children there.
Stay through unto the dawn."
Old man sittin' on a split rail fence.
He ain't goin' nowhere.
In his pockets 'bout fifteen cents;
Hank a' snowy white hair.
I ask'd him why he was sittin' there
Instead of sittin' in an easy chair.
He said to me with a smile so rare,
"I'm goin' to the fair."