Oh! women must work and women must weep,
When there’s all to be earned, and many to keep,
And the tavern bar makes moaning.
Three wives sat up past the midnight hour,
And they trimmed their lamps till the moon went down,
They wept o’er their work, and looked out through the shower,
Till the night-rakes came reeling with menace and frown;
But women must work, and women must weep,
For storms are sudden when drink is deep,
And the tavern bar makes moaning.