When
I was one-and-twenty
I
heard a wise man say,
“Give
crowns and pounds and guineas
But
not your heart away;
Give
pearls away and rubies
But
keep your fancy free.”
But
I was one-and-twenty
No
use to talk to me.
When
I was one-and-twenty
I
heard him say again,
“The
heart out of the bosom
Was
never given in vain;
‘Tis
paid with sighs a plenty
And
sold for endless rue.”
And
I am two-and-twenty
And
oh, ‘tis true, ‘tis true.
Vocabulary:
guineas: (the value of) a former British gold coin, worth ￡1.05.
rue: (esp. old use or humor) to be very sorry about (something one has done or not done); regret.
He'll rue the day (=will always be sorry that) he married her.
