Classic Poem

I sing a theme deserving praise,
A theme of great renown, sir;
The Ship Canal in Manchester,
That rich and trading town, sir.
I mean to say, it once was rich
E'er these bad times came on, sir;
But good times will come back, you know,
When these bad times are gone, sir.

In eighteen twenty-five,
When we were speculating all, sir,
We wise folks clubbed together
And we made this Ship Canal, sir.
I should have said we meant to do,
For we'd the scheme laid down, sir,
That would have made this Manchester
A first-rate seaport town, sir.

Near Oxford Road the dry dock is,
To cork and to careen, sir;
Our chief West India Dock
Is where the pond was at Ardwick Green, sir.
That is to say they might have been there,
Had these plans been done, sir,
And vessels might have anchored there
Of full five hundred ton, sir.

Instead of lazy Old Quay flats
That crawl three miles an hour, sir,
We'd fine three-masted steam ships,
Some of ninety horses' power, sir.
That is, had it been made we should;
And Lord! how fine 'twould be, sir,
When all beyond St Peter's Church
Was open to the sea, sir.

At Stretford, Prestwich, Eccles too,
No weaver could you see, sir,
His shuttle for a handspike changed,
Away to sea he went, sir.
I'm wrong, I mean he would have done so
Had it but been made, sir,
For who would starve at weaving
Who could find a better trade, sir?

Alas, then, for poor Cannon Street,
The hookers-in, poor odd fish!
Instead of catching customers,
Must take to catching cod fish.
That is, supposing it was made,
May it ne'er be, I wish, sir,
These cotton boats for customers
Would never do for fish, sir.

Alas, too, for poor Liverpool,
She'd surely go to pot, sir;
For want of trade her folks would starve,
Her custom house would rot, sir.
I'm wrong, they'd not exactly starve
Or want, for it is true, sir,
They might come down to Manchester,
We'd find them work to do, sir.

Success then unto Manchester,
And joking all aside, sir,
Her trade will flourish as before
And be her country's pride, sir.
That is to say if speculation
Can but be kept down, sir,
And sure we've had enough of that,
At least within this town, sir.