A win, a clap, a cheer, a pat -
We ne'er had that, we ne'er had that.

We went to woods for butterflies,
came back with dust in our eyes
and in our bag a lousy bat.
We ne'er had that, we ne'er had that.

We were like sailors o'er the seas,
against the storms, against the breeze,
we went to rocks, our ships fell flat.
We ne'er had that, we ne'er had that.

Not that we did not persevere,
nor that our bid was insincere,
ill-luck crossed us like a cat.
We ne'er had that, we ne'er had that.

Scorn us not, O Miss Fortune!
what if our cry was for the Moon?
our life is not a rotting rat,
although we ne'er, we ne'er had that.