When the road it is rough and the sun it is strong,
And the miles of the country seem long and more long,
And your spirits they flag in the heat of the day,
Oh, a wonderful thing is a lift by the way!
It may be a milk-float aglitter with cans,
It may be a tinker with kettles and pans,
A farmer's smart gig or a rattling old shay —
It won't come amiss for a lift by the way.
It may be a baker's cart fragrant with bread,
Or a farm-cart whence ordours less pleasing are shed,
A lorry with sacks or a wagon of hay —
They all come alike for a lift on the way.
The motors flash by with their noise and their smell
Assailing your eyes and your nostrils as well,
So modern their haste is, no leisure have they
For old-fashioned things like a lift by the way.
But long may there linger in England's green lanes
The jingling old shandries and creaking old wains,
And long may they lend in the heat of the day
To weary foot-farers a lift by the way!
Notes
Taken from the collected editions of Punch 1922 by kind permission of the lady behind the counter in the old bookshop in Swaffham.
From PUNCH magazine, Volume 163, September 27, 1922, p. 294.
Not published in any of the poet's books.
Jim Saville and Charley Noble
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