Classic Poem

There's lots of things I'd like to be,
A sailor sailing on the sea;
A soldier standing stiff and straight
Beside King George's palace gate;
A baker kneading mounds of dough;
The man who shovels up the snow;
The pilot of an aeroplane;
The engine driver on a train;
A gipsy in a caravan,
Or else a hurdy-gurdy man.

There are so many things to choose —
A blacksmith making horses' shoes;
The man who works a windmill sails;
A writer writing fairy-tales;
The man with toy balloons to sell;
The muffin man who rings a bell;
The Lord Mayor in the Lord Mayor's Show —
I'd like to be them all, but oh!
I'm going to manage, if I can,
To be a hurdy-gurdy man!

A hurdy-gurdy is so gay,
I'd like to go with one all day,
And turn the handle round and round
And listen to the jolly sound;
I'd see the people peering out,
And watch the children crowd about,
And tap their feet in time and sing —
Oh, what a lot of fun I'd bring
If I could carry out my plan,
And be a hurdy-gurdy man!