Gypsies

[Huxley]

In case you were wondering, The Straight Dope published an interesting article titled "Who are the Gypsies?" (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgypsies.htm)

[Windhaven]

Reminds me of an old song...
The old ways are changing you cannot deny
The day of the traveller is over
There's nowhere to go and there's nowhere to bide
So farewell to the life of the rover


Chorus (after each verse):
Farewell to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gipsy, the travelling man
And farewell to the thirty-foot trailer
Farewell to the cant and the travelling tongue
Farewell to the romany talking
The buying and selling, the old fortune telling
The knock on the door and the hawking

You've got to move fast to keep up with the times
For these days a man cannot dander
It's a bylaw to say you must be on your way
And another to say you can't wander

Farewell to the besoms of heather and broom
Farewell to the creel and the basket
For the folks of today they would far sooner pay
For a thing that's been made out of plastic

Farewell to the pony, the cob, and the mare
Where the reins and the harness are idle
You don't need a strap when you're breaking up scrap
So farewell to the bit and the bridle

Farewell to the fields where we've sweated and toiled
At pulling and shawing and lifting
They'll soon have machines and there's travelling queens
And their menfolk had better be shifting