Capo 5th fret

Standard (EADGBE)

Of all the trades in England the beggin' is the best

For when a beggar's tired he can lay him down and rest

Chorus

after each verse):

And a-beggin' I will go

 And a-beggin' I will go

I got on the train in Carlisle they kicked me out at Crewe

I slept on every paving-stone from there to Waterloo

I got breakfast off the Embankment I got my lunch and tea

And only the finest cardboard made a home that was fit for me

We sit on the stair at Leicester Square from seven o'clock till ten

Then round the back of the Connaught House for dinner from out of a bin

I can rest when I am tired and I heed no master's bell

A man'd be daft to be a king when beggars live so well

The law came down to see us they came down three together

They put out the fire they left us there Oh Lord how we did shiver

I am a Victorian value I'm enterprise poverty

Completely invisible to the state and a joy to Mrs T

Of all the trades in England the beggin' is the best

For when a beggar's tired he can lay him down and rest