When labor is light and the morning is fair, I find it a pleasure beyond all compare To hitch up my nag and go hurrying down And take Katie May for a ride into town; For bumpety-bump goes the wagon, But tra-la-la-la our lay. There's joy in a song as we rattle along In the light of the glorious day. A coach would be fine, but a spring wagon's good; My jeans are a match for Kate's gingham and hood; The hills take us up and the vales take us down, But what matters that? we are riding to town, And bumpety-bump goes the wagon, But tra-la-la-la sing we. There's never a care may live in the air That is filled with the breath of our glee. And after we've started, there's naught can repress The thrill of our hearts in their wild happiness; The heavens may smile or the heavens may frown, And it's all one to us when we're riding to town. For bumpety-bump goes the wagon, But tra-la-la-la we shout, For our hearts they are clear and there 's nothing to fear, And we've never a pain nor a doubt. The wagon is weak and the roadway is rough, And tho' it is long it is not long enough, For mid all my ecstasies this is the crown To sit beside Katie and ride into town, When bumpety-bump goes the wagon, But tra-la-la-la our song; And if I had my way, I 'd be willing to pay If the road could be made twice as long. WE WEAR THE MASK We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,-- This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties. Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask. We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask! THE MEADOW LARK Though the winds be dank, And the sky be sober, And the grieving Day In a mantle gray Hath let her waiting maiden robe her,-- All the fields along I can hear the song Of the meadow lark, As she flits and flutters, And laughs at the thunder when it mutters. O happy bird, of heart most gay To sing when skies are gray! When the clouds are full, And the tempest master Lets the loud winds sweep From his bosom deep Like heralds of some dire disaster, Then the heart alone To itself makes moan; And the songs come slow, While the tears fall fleeter, And silence than song by far seems sweeter. Oh, few are they along the way Who sing when skies are gray! ONE LIFE