Roarin' Fire (Collected by MacEdward Leach)

Of all the pleasures in this world, the dearest one in life,
When a man knows he's got a clean and tidy wife;
His house is like a palace so he may never roam,
For a clean and tidy wife makes a true and happy home.

With a big roaring fire, a kettle on to boil,
Makes a man feel happy when he's done his daily toil;
With a smiling tidy wife and a clean hearthstone,
Very, very cozy when a man comes home.

Now, what man can be happier when his day's work is done,
To meet his wife with kindly smiles and to see the children run;
The air seems full of music but their voices seem to ring,
While the merry kettle on the hearth with gladness seems to sing.

With a big roaring fire, a kettle on to boil,
Makes a man feel happy when he's done his daily toil;
With a smiling tidy wife and a clean hearthstone,
Very, very cozy when a man comes home.

Some people think it's jolly, a single life to lead,
It's only just for talking's sake, but that I'll never heed;
A single life it's very good, it might be gay and free,
But the comforts of a married life are just the ones for me.

With a big roaring fire, a kettle on to boil,
Makes a man feel happy when he's done his daily toil;
With a smiling tidy wife and a clean hearthstone,
Very, very cozy when a man comes home.

####.... Author unknown. Variant of a late 19th century British broadside ballad, Clean Hearthstane, published by the Poet's Box in Overgate, Dundee, Scotland, probably between 1880 and 1900, and archived in the Word On The Street digital library of the National Library of Scotland, Shelfmark: L.C.Fol.70(18b) ....####

Sung by Jim Rice [1879-1958] of Cape Broyle, NL, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).

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