As I was going to Derby, sir,
All on a market day,
I met the finest ram, sir,
That ever was fed upon hay.
Daddle-i-day, daddle-i-day,
Fal-de-ral, fal-de-ral, daddle-i-day.
This ram was fat behind, sir,
This ram was fat before,
This ram was ten yards high, sir,
Indeed he was no more.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
The wool upon his back, sir,
Reached up unto the sky,
The eagles made their nests there, sir,
I heard the young ones cry.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
The wool upon his belly, sir,
It dragged upon the ground,
It was sold in Derby town, sir,
For forty thousand pound.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
The space between his horns, sir,
Was as far as a man could reach,
And there they built a pulpit, sir,
For the parson there to preach.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
The teeth that were in his mouth, sir,
Were like a regiment of men,
And the tongue that hung between them, sir,
Would have dined them twice and again.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
This ram jumped o'er a wall, sir,
His tail caught on a briar,
It reached from Derby town, sir,
All into Leicestershire.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
And of this tail so long, sir,
'Twas ten miles and an ell,
They made a goodly rope, sir,
To toll the market bell.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
This ram had four legs to walk, sir,
This ram had four legs to stand,
And every leg he had, sir,
Stood on an acre of land.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
The butcher that killed this ram, sir,
Was drowned in the blood,
And all the good people of Derby, sir,
Were carried away in the flood.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
All the maids in Derby, sir,
Came begging for his horns,
To take them to the cooper's, sir,
To make them milking gawns.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
The little boys of Derby, sir,
They came to beg his eyes,
To kick about the streets, sir,
For they were football size.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
The tanner that tanned his hide, sir,
Would never be poor any more,
For when he had tanned and stretched it, sir,
It covered all Sinfin Moor.
Daddle-i-day, etc.
Indeed, sir, this is true, sir,
I never was taught to lie,
And had you been to Derby, sir,
You'd have seen it, as well as I.
Daddle-i-day, daddle-i-day,
Fal-de-ral, fal-de-ral, daddle-i-day.