With leather apron and elbows bare,
He swings his mighty hammer ;
There's not a farmer near or far
But's glad of his anvil's ring and jar,
For he makes them shoe, share, and bar,
Then hey ! and ho ! for tie cheery clamour
Of the busy Blacksmith's mighty hammer. In the winter frost, in the summer heat,
You may hear the steady, ringing beat,
With which he swings his hammer;
He strikes when the iron's hot, all day ;
He clears his work and he pays his way ;
The thing he thinks that thing he'll say.
Then hey ! and ho ! for the cherry clamour
Of the busy Blacksmith's mighty hammer. Of the Blacksmith's trade it may be said
He can hit the right nail on the head,
When he swings his mighty hammer,
The metal he works is as rich as gold,
And though he bloweth both hot and cold,
His heart and his hand are true and bold.
Then hey ! and ho ! for the cheery clamour
Of the busy Blacksmith's mighty hammer. He can forgo at will and break no law ;
He can temper his work without a flaw,
When he swings his mighty hammer ;
It is bolt, or bar, or nail, or chain,
It is tire, or shoe, or crank, or crane,
Harrow or plough and never in vain ;
For the Blacksmith's "share" in the field is gain.
So hey ! and ho ! for the cheery clamour
Of the busy Blacksmith's mighty hammer. His work is in every trade and life,
From the field of corn to the field of strife,
Then hey ! for the Blacksmith's hammer.
May the red sparks fly in the smithy hold ;
May the anvil never grow still and cold ;
May the Hammerman aye be true and bold;
And the world ne'er miss the cheery clamour
Of ringing anvil and swinging hammer ! Notes From the NSW Newspaper The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate 18 Dec 1886 p. 10. The Industrial revolution involved many different kinds of Smiths -- Tinsmiths, Silversmiths, Coppersmiths, Goldsmiths, Whitesmiths, Locksmiths, Brownsmiths and of course Blacksmiths as in this song that celebrates his skills that gave a kind of independence in a time when trade unions began to demand rights and conditions that had previously been refused by the ruling elite