Oh father, dear father,
you've done to me much wrong,
You've gone and got me married to a boy
who is too young
For he is only 16 years and I am 21,
Oh my darling boy is young but he's growing

Oh daughter, dear daughter,
it's you who have done wrong,
For you and he together have gone and got a son,
And he must have a father when I am dead and gone,
Oh your darling boy is young but he's growing

One day as I was walking down by the college wall
I saw the young men they were playing football,
My true love was there, he was the finest of them all,
My darling boy is young but he's growing

Another day I was walking down by the college wall,
I saw the pusher, he was making his call,
My true love was there, he was the palest of them all,
Oh the dealer put an end to his growing

At the age of sixteen years he was a married man,
And at the age of seventeen, the father of a son,
the grass grew over him,
The dealer put an end to his growing

Oh the Springtime is past
and the Summer's coming on,
It's earring, beads and bangles the young girls
have put on,
Once I had a true love but now I have got none,
But I 'll watch over his son while he's growing