“Which his Weakness is Women” [poem by E. J. Brady]

[Editor: This poem by E. J. Brady was published in The Ways of Many Waters (1899).]

XXX.

“Which his Weakness is Women.”

When first I met Dolores
I swore — a ’prentice kid —
’Er Spanish eyes was glories:
Gord ’elp me! So I did.
But that was Valparaiso,
Before I got to know —
Yes, that was Valparaiso,
An’ very long ago.

Which ’is weakness is women;
Oh, let us confess
It might ’ave been greater,
’T would hardly be less.
Two sins what ’e’ll boast of
In ’Ell, we opine,
Two sins what ’e’ll roast of —
That’s women — an’ wine.

She sipped aguardiente,
An’ she was hot as flame;
I loved ’er good an’ plenty —
She swore she did the same;
She vowed in West Coast lingo,
“Por dios! luf I you,”
An’ left me for a gringo
With pesos for to blue.

Since which I’ve crossed the waters,
To spend my cash an’ leave
A-courtin’ of the daughters
Of good ole Mother Eve;
Since which I’ve fooled with women,
With women white an’ brown,
With Dagoes an’ she-devils
From ’Amburg to Cape Town.

I might ’ave saved my money —
God knows how hard ’t was won —
But this is certain, sonny,
A chap will ’ave ’is fun.
There’s not a man that’s human —
An’ men ain’t stone nor wood —
Who, when it comes to woman,
As would n’t if he could.

If I could ’arp like David,
As always ’arped in tune,
My chanty it would echo
From Rio to Rangoon,
An’ places intervenin’
Some answer it might find,
For every port I’ve been in
I’ve left my love be’ind!

Which ’is weakness is women —
Oh, let us confess
It might have been greater,
’T would hardly be less,
For out of each ’undred
There’s ninety an’ nine
Is damned and condemned for
Said women — an’ wine.

Source:
E. J. Brady, The Ways of Many Waters, Melbourne: Thomas C. Lothian, 1909 [first published 1899], pages 136-138

Editor’s notes:
aguardiente = (Spanish for “burning water”) a style of brandy made in Portugal and Spain; a brandy-like liquor made from sugar cane (popular in Central America, South America, and in the south-west of the USA)

blue = (slang) squander, spend money wastefully

[Editor: Corrected “be’ind l” to “be’ind !”.]