Nothing to do, Nellie Darling
Nothing to do you say
Let's take a trip on memory's ship
Back to the bygone days
Sail to the old village school house
Anchor outside the school door
Look in and see, there's you and there's me
A couple of kids once more
School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate, "I love you, Joe"
When we were a couple of kids
'Member the hill, Nellie Darling
And the oak tree that grew on its brow
They've built forty storeys upon that old hill
And the oak's an old chestnut now
'Member the meadows so green, dear
So fragrant with clover and maize
Into new city lots and preferred bus'ness plots
They've cut them up since those days
School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate, "I love you, Joe"
When we were a couple of kids