vain and careless

Natalie Merchant

Lady, lovely lady
Careless and gay!
Once when a beggar called
She gave her child away

The beggar took the baby
Wrapped it in a shawl
"Bring her back, " the lady said
"Next time you call. "

Hard by lived a vain man
So vain and so proud
He walked on stilts
To be seen by the crowd

Up above the chimney pots
Tall as a mast
And all the people ran about
Shouting till he passed

"A splendid match surely, "
Neighbours saw it plain
"Although she is so careless
Although he is so vain. "

But the lady played bobcherry
Did not see or care
As the vain man went by her
Aloft in the air

This gentle-born couple
Lived and died apart
Water will not mix with oil
Nor vain with careless heart