The Housewife's Lament

‘One day I was walking,
I heard a complaining
And saw an old woman the picture of gloom
She gazed at the mud on her doorstep
('twas raining)
And this was her song as she wielded her broom:
Oh, life is a toil and love is a trouble
Beauty will fade and riches will flee
Pleasures they dwindle and prices they double
And nothing is as I would wish it to be.’

(from “The Housewife’s Lament,” a traditional song)