Henry's Songbook

Chorus:
Here's to you, my ramblin' boy
May all your ramblin' bring you joy
Here's to you, my ramblin' boy
May all your ramblin' bring you joy

He was a man and a friend always
He stuck with me in the bad old days
We never cared that we had no dough
We rambled round in the rain and snow

Late one night in a lonely camp
The weather it was cold and damp
He got the chills and he got them bad
I lost the only friend I had

My ramblin' friend is dead and gone
He left me here to ramble on
If when we die we go somewhere
I'll bet you a dollar he's ramblin' there

(as sung by Iain Mackintosh)

[1988:] My first regular job after leaving the army [c. 1960] was at the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village [...]. One night I wrote three songs between shows, using a little pocket notebook. Songs one and three were non-starters. Song two was Ramblin' Boy. (Notes 'The Very Best of Tom Paxton')