What changes thor is most ivry day,
For improovemint's a' the go,
Foaks open thor eyes wiv a sigh an' say,
Wad ye ivor thowt it Joe ?
Greet invenshuns pour upon us fast,
Ivry day brings sum new plan,
But nyen can beat or hope to compete
Wi' that ov a Tyneside man.
Tyneside's the place where i' glory shine
The stars o' the canny² toon ;
Industry and genius byeth combine
Te preserve wor greet renoon,
George_Stephenson here first showed the way
Te improove upon the past,
An' the Tyneside Collier gain'd the day,
Wiv his wundrus wark at last. [Note 535.1]
Lang, tang hestudied, an' lang he tried
His grand object hard te gain,
For awhile he fund his plans defied,
But at last he hut the TRAIN,
Then he parsevered wi' reet gud will,
Te bring talents oot the shade,
Wi' determined care,-victorious there,
A STEAM ENGINE., lads, he made.
Just aboot this time stage-coaches ran,
Each traveller to convey,
When to gan vary far tiv ony man,
Wes owt but safe, they say ;
Fower miles an' oor, wes gud aw's sure,
An' nivor reckoned slaw, [Note 535.2]
Till the engine's steam an' 'the signal scream,
Gah the gigs an' cabs a thraw.
Cosey an' canny, noo fast we flee [Note 535.3]
Alang the fine railway line
Sixty miles an' oor 'ill surely de,
If yor thowts to speed incline; [Note 535.4]
For Stephenson, pride o' the worlds greet men,
His grand wark had myed complete,
An' the iron hone, wes king o' the course,
Where it 'ill nivor knaw defeat.
A monument here tiv him they've raised, [Note 535.5]
May it ivor proodly stand,
A memorial o' the gem we've praised,
A figor o' genius grand ;
'Mid fair an' storm may it stand as firm,
As the nyem o' the greet self-made,
For he's alive i' the hearts o' Tyneside men,
Tho' iv his last bed he's laid.