When I Was One-and-Twenty

¹When I was one-and-twenty

²I heard a wise man say,

³"Give crowns and pounds and guineas

⁴But not your heart away;

⁵Give pearls away and rubies

⁶But keep your fancy free."

⁷But I was one-and-twenty,

⁸No use to talk to me.

⁹When I was one-and-twenty

¹⁰I heard him say again,

¹¹"The heart out of the bosom

¹²Was never given in vain;

¹³'Tis paid with sighs a plenty

¹⁴And sold for endless rue."

¹⁵And I am two-and-twenty,

¹⁶And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.