In the corner she's left the mechanical toy,
On the chair is her Teddy Bear fine;
The things that I thought she would really enjoy
...
I have no wish to rail at fate,
And vow that I'm unfairly treated;
I do not give vent to my hate
...
We're queer folks here.
We'll talk about the weather,
The good times we have had together,
...
In some respects the old days were perhaps ahead of these,
Before we got to wanting wealth and costly luxuries;
Perhaps the world was happier then, I'm not the one to say,
...
Last year he wanted building blocks,
And picture books and toys,
A saddle horse that gayly rocks,
...
Prettiest girl I've ever seen
Is Ma.
Lovelier than any queen
Is Ma.
...
If certain folks that I know well
Should come to me their woes to tell
I'd read the sorrow in their faces
And I could analyze their cases.
...
Old-fashioned flowers! I love them all:
The morning-glories on the wall,
The pansies in their patch of shade,
...
Some day the world will need a man of courage in a time of doubt,
And somewhere, as a little boy, that future hero plays about.
Within some humble home, no doubt, that instrument of greater things
...
It makes me smile to hear 'em tell each other nowadays
The burdens they are bearing, with a child or two to raise.
Of course the cost of living has gone soaring to the sky
...