# The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke/XIV. The Mooch o' Life

* The Mooch o' Life
* HIS ev'nin' I was sittin' wiv Doreen,
* Peaceful an' 'appy wiv the day's work done,
* Watchin', be'ind the orchard's bonzer green,
* The flamin' wonder uv the settin' sun.
* Another day gone by; another night
* Creepin' along to douse Day's golden light;
* Another dawnin', when the night is gone,
* To live an' love—an' so life mooches on.
* Times I 'ave thought, when things was goin' crook,
* When 'Ope turned nark 'an Love fergot to smile,
* Of somethin' I once seen in some ole book
* Where an ole sore-'ead arsts, "Is life worf w'ile?
* But in that stillness, as the day grows dim,
* An' I am sittin' there wiv 'er an' 'im—
* My wife, my son! an' strength in me to strive,
* I only know—it's good to be alive!
* ​Yeh live, yeh love, yeh learn; an' when yeh come
* To square the ledger in some thortful hour,
* The everlastin' answer to the sum
* Must alwus be, "Where's sense in gittin' sour?"
* Fer when yeh've come to weigh the good an' bad—
* The gladness wiv the sadness you 'ave 'ad—
* Then 'im 'oo's faith in 'uman goodness fails
* Fergits to put 'is liver in the scales.
* Livin' an' lovin'; learnin' day be day;
* Pausin' a minute in the barmy strife
* To find that 'elpin' others on the way
* Is gold coined fer your profit—sich is life.
* I've studied books wiv yearnin's to improve,
* To 'eave meself out uv me lowly groove,
* An' 'ere is orl the change I ever got:
* "'Ark at yer 'eart, an' you kin learn the lot."
* I gives it in—that wisdom o' the mind—
* I wasn't built to play no lofty part.
* Orl such is welkim to the joys they find;
* I only know the wisdom o' the 'eart.
* ​An' ever it 'as taught me, day be day,
* The one same lesson in the same ole way:
* "Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
* Fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
* Life's wot yeh make it; an' the bloke 'oo tries
* To grab the shinin' stars frum out the skies
* Goes crook on life, an' calls the world a cheat,
* An' tramples on the daisies at 'is feet.
* But when the moon comes creepin' o'er the hill,
* An' when the mopoke calls along the creek,
* I takes me cup o' joy an' drinks me fill,
* An' arsts meself wot better could I seek.
* An' ev'ry song I 'ear the thrushes sing
* That everlastin' message seems to bring;
* An' ev'ry wind that whispers in the trees
* Gives me the tip there ain't no joys like these:
* Livin' an' lovin'; wand'rin' on yer way;
* Reapin' the 'arvest uv a kind deed done;
* An' watchin', in the sundown uv yer day,
* Yerself again, grown nobler in yer son.
* ​Knowin' that ev'ry coin o' kindness spent
* Bears interest in yer 'eart at cent per cent;
* Measurin' wisdom by the peace it brings
* To simple minds that values simple things.
* An' when I take a look along the way
* That I 'ave trod, it seems the man knows best,
* Who's met wiv slabs uv sorrer in 'is day,
* When 'e is truly rich an' truly blest.
* An' I am rich, becos me eyes 'ave seen
* The lovelight in the eyes of my Doreen;
* An' I am blest, becos me feet 'ave trod
* A land 'oo's fields reflect the smile o' God.
* Livin' an' lovin'; learnin' to fergive
* The deeds an' words of some un'appy bloke
* Who's missed the bus—so 'ave I come to live,
* An' take the 'ole mad world as 'arf a joke.
* Sittin' at ev'nin' in this sunset-land,
* Wiv 'Er in all the World to 'old me 'and,
* A son, to bear me name when I am gone.…
* Livin' an' lovin'—so life mooches on.