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 Source for drawing at left: James Baillie, Single. Hand-colored lithograph. New York, 1848. (Courtesy of American Antiquarian Society) |
| Give me a book instead of a wife And I shall ask no more of life. A book all grief and pain assuages Through the silent thoughts upon its pages. A book has not a painted face And can be kept right in its place. CHORUS Heigh-ho! The bachelor life! A book shuts up in time of strife, But you can’t say the same of any man’s wife. Heigh-ho! —— Give me a book instead of a wife And I shall ask no more of life. A book gives joy and bright romance, But never wants to go out and dance. A book at night likes it covers, too, But it never pulls them off of you! [CHORUS] Heigh-ho! The bachelor life! You can cut a book with a carving knife, But you can’t say the same of any man’s wife. Heigh-ho! Kenneth Phillips Britton. |