(capo 5ª casa)

D                                      A
Come all brother tradesmen that travel alone,
G                 A                  G          D
O, pray come and tell me where the trade is all gone,
D                              G           D
Long time I have travelled and cannot find none,
A                                 D
And it's O, the hard times of old England,
G              A         D
In old England very hard times.

D                                    A
Provisions you buy at the shop it is true,
G                A             G              D
But if you've no money there's none there for you.
D                            G         D
So what's a poor man and his family to do?
A                                 D
And it's O, the hard times of old England,
G              A         D
In old England very hard times.

D                                     A
If you go to a shop and you ask for a job
G                    A            G           A
They will answer you there with a shake and a nod.
D                                   G            D
That's enough to make a poor man to turn out and rob,
A                                 D
And it's O, the hard times of old England,
G              A         D
In old England very hard times.

D                                             A
You will see the poor tradesmen a-walking the street
G                 A         G             D
From morning till night for employment to seek.
D                          G              D
And scarcely they have any shoes to their feet,
A                                 D
And it's O, the hard times of old England,
G              A         D
In old England very hard times.

D                                            A
Our soldiers and sailors have just come from war,
G                 A              G            D
Been fighting for King and their country this year,
D                                   G                 D
Come home to be starved better have stayed where they were,
A                                 D
And it's O, the hard times of old England,
G              A         D
In old England very hard times.

D                                   A
So now to conclude and to finish my song
G                      A               G             D
Let us hope that these hard times they will not last long.
D                               G        D
And I may soon have occasion to alter my song,
A                                 D
And sing O, the good times of old England,
G              A         D
In old England jolly times.
A                                 D
And sing O, the good times of old England,
G              A         D
In old England jolly times.