1. When I was ten I went to the big house
And orders I always obeyed.
With the old gamekeeper I had to go
Learning the tricks of the trade.
What did it matter if wages were low,
Spuds and all produce was free
Squires old lady every Twelfth Night
Gives us a party a jolly good spree.

Chorus

I am Long Tom the old Yorkshire gamekeeper,
I am just seven feet tall
And when I fancy some game for my supper
I’m Long Tom the poacher an, all.

2. I have a wife, who is near five feet tall,
With a tongue just as long as my arm.
When she starts nagging I’ve nothing to say,
Just tries to turn on me charm.
Sometimes she starts and she goes on and on,
I chase her out of the shack.
She is so nimble, runs faster than me,
When it’s all over she always comes back.

3. My little wife really is a good cook,
A grill or a roast or a fry.
There’s not many people for miles around here
Knows how to make sparrow pie.
I bring a sackful of birds that I’ve shot,
Skin 'em like lightening she can,
I wouldn’t swap her, not for a gold watch,
Even as big as the old frying pan.
 
4. Sometimes at night when I’m out on the prowl,
I stop to lean on a stile.
All is at rest and all natures asleep,
Well that’s what I think for a while.
And then a nice courting couple I spies,
Always pretend not to see.
I don’t disturb 'em, they’re only young once,
Lets 'em get on with it let nature be.

5. There's always somebody salting a pig,
Who has some bacon to spare
To swap for some game the Squire wont miss,
Partridges, grouse or a hare.
Somebody's hens will go laying away
I watch 'em go to make sure.
Cooking the breakfast a beautiful smell
Plenty of eggs and good bacon galore.

6. An' when at times I'm out on me rounds,
I stops to rest at a farm.
Somebody pulls me a quart of home brewed,
Never did me any harm.
I'm a big lad with me strength to keep up
An' it is all in good cheer.
So you can bet that I've drunk in my life
Gallons and gallons of beer.

7. Oft' times I go around gathering herbs,
Roaming the dales and the hills.
I know where to find 'em and what you should take
For fevers, lumbago and chills.
The old village doctor, well he does his best,
Some people calls him a quack.
But the old midwife knows herbs that will ease
Labour and heartburn and pains in the back.

8. I am a favourite at the big house
With servants both buxom and thin.
I likes to flirt with 'em all now and then,
You must remember its only in fun
Even a kiss or a smack.
For my affections are only for her,
Who always sticks to me down in the shack.

Tommy Daniel