Excerpt from The Joy O' Life: And Other Poems The Joy O' Life Oh, the Joy o' Life goes singing through the highway, Oh, the Joy o' Life goes swinging through the green, And the form of her is slight as a crescent moon at night And her face is some strange flower none hath seen. She beckoned me and what could I but follow? (Oh, I have seen the glamour of her eyes!) Through the winding o' the ways, through the hundred nights and days Must I follow where she lures me woman-wise. My plough - I left it idle in the furrow - My harvest lies for other eyes to scan, For it's fare ye well to loam, to hearthstone and to home When the Joy o' Life is calling to a man. Oh, the Joy o' Life she calls me from the valley, Oh, the Joy o' Life, she hails me from the height, And her voice is like the thrill of the thrush when noon is still And her laughter is the lilting of delight. I follow through the sunshine and the moonshine - (Oh, I have seen the waving of her hand!) In the paths that know the fleet, flying touches of her feet At the music of her mocking of command. My friend - I left him fasting at my threshold - My sweetheart is another man's to wife, For it's fare ye well my own, and it's laugh and turn alone When a man has heard the voice of Joy o' Life. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.