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
Goodbye to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gypsy, the traveling man
And goodbye to the thirty foot trailer
Farewell to the cant and the Romani tongue
Farewell to the Romani talking
The buying and selling the old fortune telling
The knock on the door and the hawking
Goodbye to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gypsy, the traveling man
And goodbye to the thirty foot trailer
Farewell to the besoms of heather and broom
Farewell to the creels and the basket
The folks of today they would far sooner pay
For a thing that's been made out of plastic
Goodbye to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gypsy, the traveling man
And goodbye to the thirty foot trailer
The old ways are passing and soon they'll be gone
For progress is aye a big factor
It's sent to afflict us and when they evict us
They'll tow us away with a tractor
Goodbye to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gypsy, the traveling man
And goodbye to the thirty foot trailer
Farewell to the pony the cob and the mare
The reins and the harness are idle
You don't need a strap when you're breaking up scraps
So farewell to the bit and the bridle
Goodbye to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gypsy, the traveling man
And goodbye to the thirty foot trailer
Farewell to the fields where we've sweated and toiled
At pulling and hauling and lifting
They'd soon have machines and the traveling queens
And their menfolk had better get shifting
Goodbye to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gypsy, the traveling man
And goodbye to the thirty foot trailer
You've got to move fast to keep up with the times
For these days a man cannot dander
There's a bylaw to say you must be on your way
And another to say you can't wander