A Lift By The Way

When the road it is rough and the sun it is strong, And the miles of the country seem long and more long, And your spirits they flag in the heat of the day, Oh, a wonderful thing is a lift by the way! It may be a milk-float aglitter with cans, It may be a tinker with kettles and pans, A farmer's smart gig or a rattling old shay - It won't come amiss for a lift by the way. It may be a baker's cart fragrant with bread, Or a farm-cart whence ordours less pleasing are shed, A lorry with sacks or a wagon of hay - They all come alike for a lift on the way. The motors flash by with their noise and their smell Assailing your eyes and your nostrils as well, So modern their haste is, no leisure have they For old-fashioned things like a lift by the way. But long may there linger in England's green lanes The jingling old shandries and creaking old wains, And long may they lend in the heat of the day To weary foot-farers a lift by the way!