Jesse Covington
If I have had some merry timesIn roaming up and down the earth,Have made some happy-hearted rhymesAnd had my brimming share of mirth,And if this song should live in fameWhen my brief day is dead and gone,Let it recall with mine the nameOf old man Jesse Covington.
Let it recall his waggish heart—Yeke-hey, yeke-hey, hey-diddle-diddle—When, while the fire-logs fell apart,He snatched the bow across his fiddle,And looked on, with his eyes half shut,Which meant his soul was wild with fun,At our mad capers through the hutOf old man Jesse Covington.
For all the thrilling tales he told,For all the tunes the fiddle knew,For all the glorious nights of oldWe boys and he have rollicked through,For laughter all unknown to wealthThat roared responsive to a pun,A hale, ripe age and ruddy healthTo old man Jesse Covington!