Good-By Er Howdy-Do
By James Whitcomb Riley
Say good-by er howdy-do -
What's the odds betwixt the two?
Comin' - goin', ev'ry day -
Best friends first to go away -
Grasp of hands you'd ruther hold
Than their weight in solid gold
Slips their grip while greetin' you. -
Say good-by er howdy-do!
Howdy-do, and then, good-by -
Mixes jes' like laugh and cry;
Deaths and births, and worst and best,
Tangled their contrariest;
Ev'ry jinglin' weddin'-bell
Skeerin' up some funer'l knell. -
Here's my song, and there's your sigh. -
Howdy-do, and then, good-by!
Say good-by er howdy-do -
Jes' the same to me and you;
'Taint worth while to make no fuss,
'Cause the job's put up on us!
Some One's runnin' this concern
That's got nothin' else to learn:
Ef He's willin', we'll pull through -
Say good-by er howdy-do!