The Wandering Dispossessed

In their horse drawn gipsy caravans they roamed the countryside
And they hated the word 'Tinker' it seemed to hurt their pride
They liked to be called Travelers that name they did not mind
And it seemed appropriate to them as they were wandering kind.

It's been said that they were wanderers way back since Cromwell's time
That they were the main victims of the oppressors crime
They were poor tenant farmers the downtrod and oppressed
Who roamed the roads of Ireland when they were dispossessed.

For petty crimes and larcenies some say they were to blame
But they were once proud people till Cromwell's army came
And poverty give rise to crime and it has oft been said
That in the lives of the down trodden the klepto bug is bred.

And thinking of these people take me back down the years
'The Tinkers will come to get you' brought little boy to tears
When we were naughty children our mum to us did say
The Tinkerman will come at midnight and carry you away.

And i dreamt i was a prisoner in gipsy caravan
And so scared of my jailer the dark haired travelling man
I was his little slave boy to be sold at horse fair
And i woke loudly screaming to find it a nightmare.

They were proud tenant farmers till Cromwell's army came
And they have been downtrodden and been called out of name
And they have known great prejudice and they have been oppressed
And still outcasts in their Country are the wandering dispossessed.