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When Casey Went A’Rooing

Tim Casey of the Castlereagh,
Whose intellect was scanty,
Once bought a dog, by name “Hooray,”
To bark around the shanty.

One morning Tim went forth to ride
His bound’ry on draught Boggin,
And faithfully at Boggin’s side
Hooray went gaily joggin’.

He spied a ‘roo, and said for sport
He’d catch its tail for supper;
Two sudden digs made Boggin snort
So that he burst the crupper.

And ‘way went Casey down the hill.
His heels and waddy plying,
Whilst Hooray pelted harder still
To catch the bounders flying.

Alack, they leapt a dog-leg fence,
And sailed away in clover,
For Boggin propped—which showed he’d sense—
And chucked Tim Casey over.

Then Boggin hard for home did pelt,
Pleased that the chase was ended,
Whilst Casey by his leather belt
Was to a limb suspended.

Grave fears possessed Tim’s faithful hound.
He whined, and barked, and fretted,
As Casey Tim spun round and round,
And grunted, cursed, and sweated.

Then, with canine sagacity,
That spoke a brilliant future,
He took a hold to pull him free—
And off came Casey’s blucher.

Encouraged thus, he tugged away
At laces, socks, and stitches;
And as Tim Casey yelled “Hooray!”
The dog dragged off his britches.

A nigger came, and, nigger-wise,
Ascended with his chopper,
And, heedless of poor Casey’s cries,
He cut him down—a cropper!

Enraged, Tim tried to catch Hooray,
And, with torn shirt-tails waving,
And cursing ‘long the Castlereagh,
Ran like a madman raving!

With Boggin now Tim ploughs away,
And Hooray’s badly doing;
He’s wracked with nightmares since that day
When Casey went a-’rooing.

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