My Big Brother

My big brother will git you fer that,
He’ll shine up your eye and he’ll step on your hat:
You’d better watch out in the mornin’, for he
Will be lookin’ fer you, jes’ for pickin’ on me.
You can slap me an’ cuff me
An’ bully an’ bluff me,
But I ain’t alone in this world,
There’s another
That you’ve got to meet
When you’re out in the street
Who will fix you fer certain, an’ that’s my big brother.

My big brother can clean up with two
Or sixteen or eighteen big cowards like you!
An’ you’d better be careful, coz when he’s around
With only one hand he’ll knock you to the ground.
When I tell what you did
He’ll say, ‘ That’s all right, kid,
I’ll just send him bawling back home to his mother.’
If you’re looking for fight
You will get it all right
The very next time that you meet my big brother.

‘My big brother!’ I heard it to-day as I passed down the street,
And it brought back to me many memories sweet
Of the days long ago when my big brother, too,
Did for me what he threatened his brother would do.
When he finished my fights,
And he stood for my rights,
With a strength I believed that no rival could smother.
And I chuckled with joy,
And I thought: ‘ Lucky boy!’
For I know what it means to possess a big brother.