A REFUGE FOR POETS WHO WRITE IN THE LYRIC TRADITION,
WITH RHYME AND METER, WITH OR WITHOUT MUSIC
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I NEVER WANT TO GET MARRIED
I never want to get married,
I’ll never take a wife.
I’d rather be a rambler
And be single all my life.
I don’t want to be tied down,
I always want to be free;
And no conniving maid
Will ever put the ropes on me.
When I was so much younger
Daddy took me on his knee,
And in a fit of kindness
This advice he gave to me:
I only took a wife
‘Cause I was lonely all night through,
And before I knew what happened
I was feeding brats like you.
He said he told my mother
While drinking at the wine:
Everything I have is yours
And what you have is mine.
She found another lover
In about two hours’ time,
And she took what I had given her,
And what she said was mine.
So I never want to get married,
A single man I’ll stay.
When you sign that marriage contract
You sign your soul away.
A maiden’s blooming beauty
So quickly fades away,
And still you must support her
Until your dying day.
I never want to get married,
I’ll never take a wife.
I’d rather be a rambler
And be single all my life.
I don’t want to be tied down,
I always want to be free;
And no conniving maid
Will ever put the ropes on me.
Schenectady, New York, 1973
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