Classic Poem

Come friends and listen to my song,
You shall not find it dull.
It is the strange and merry lay
About the Bloxwich bull.

It was the wake of seventy-nine,
The village green was full;
They said no town afar or near
Could boast so fine a bull.

The dogs were brought, the stakes were driven,
And then there came a lull
While three tall men went o'er the green
To fetch the famous bull.

Now when they reached the stable door,
Long faces did they pull,
For lo! some knave had been afore
And taken away the bull.

The folk they raved, the folk they swore,
They said it was a gull;
They said they'd bait the three tall men
Unless they found the bull.

The three tall men were sore afraid,
They with grief were full.
‘Give us an hour's space,’ they said,
‘And we will find the bull.’

They searched from noon till twilight grey
And then to evening dull,
But nevermore the people spied
The tall men or the bull.