John Jeffreys - When That I Was and a Little Tiny Boy

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When that I was and a little tiny boy
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain
A foolish thing was but a toy
For the rain it raineth every day

But when I came to man's estate
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain
'Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate
For the rain it raineth every day

But when I came, alas! to wive
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain
By swaggering could I never thrive
For the rain it raineth every day

But when I came unto my beds
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain
With toss-pots still had drunken heads
For the rain it raineth every day

A great while ago the world begun
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain
But that's all one, our play is done
And we'll strive to please you every day

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John Jeffreys

John Jeffreys (1927-2010) was born to Welsh parents in Thanet, Kent, and composed very much in a traditional English pastoral vein. Unable to receive much recognition in the 1970s, he destroyed much of his music and worked as a garden designer for council housing, writing a couple of books on the subject. However, in the following decade, he found a tape of his works and was able to reconstruct some of his music.