Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away

When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn’t see him there at all!

Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door

Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away

"Antigonish" (1899)

Mearns is credited with the well-known rhyme, composed in 1899 as a song for a play he had written, called The Psyco-ed.

The play was performed in 1910 and the poem was first published as "Antigonish" in 1922.

Onwards. Upwards. Always!

Fa