Original Version

1.
The first one ever I kissed
(apart from my cousin Janine, who doesn't count because of the wart)
Was a long-legged red-headed pearl of a girl
Whose last name I never quite caught.
She was as old as Eve in her eyes, and wise in the ways of men
When Rebecca was eleven and I was a tongue-tied four-eyed twit of ten.

2.
Her lot had a cunning caravan with Calorgas and proper toilet in a shed.
We had a ramshackle chalet with a Primus
And a bucket with a curtain 'round instead.
They had a standard Vanguard;
We had a very substandard van
When Rebecca was eleven and I was a no-account know-nothing nipper of ten.

ch
But ever since then, oh ever since then
It's never been the same and it'll never be again
As when Rebecca was eleven and I was ten,
Rebecca in the willow in the hollow by the river
In the long hot summer of the best year ever
And ever and ever, amen.

3.
Alan said he'd seen down Rebecca's knicks, he said,
And what he'd seen, he said, looked sort of flat.
I told Rebecca I didn't care a heck of a lot for things like that.
'Cuz I was a prat.
She sort of smiled, like they shouldn't, like they do,
Although I didn't know they shouldn't do then
When Rebecca was eleven and I was a new and clueless clown of ten.

4.
Follow me down, and we'll climb the pussy willow
In the hollow by the shallow river turning.
So she climbed and I followed,
And I looked up the leg of her shorts Which at least showed I was learning.
And we sat in the willow in the hollow by the shallow
Of the river where the minnow dodged the pike.
And Rebecca put her two tanned arms behind her head, and said
"Go on, then, you can kiss me if you like."

bridge
And the golden down on the brown of her skin,
And the moon-white scar on the point of her chin,
And the eucalyptal taste of sin For the first time…

ch
And ever since then, oh ever since then
It's never been the same and it'll never be again
As when Rebecca was eleven and I was ten,
Rebecca in the willow in the hollow by the river
In the long hot summer of the best year ever
And ever and ever, amen.

And I never saw Rebecca ….

Edited for Americans by Mike Agranoff

1.
The first one ever I kissed
(apart from my cousin Janine, who doesn't count because of the wart)
Was a long-legged red-headed pearl of a girl
Whose second name I never quite caught
She was as old as Eve in her eyes, and wise in the ways of men
When Rebecca was eleven and I was a tongue-tied four-eyed twit of ten.

2.
Her folks had a cozy summer cottage, Coleman stove and proper privy in a shed.
We had a ramshackle cabin with a camp bed
And a bucket with a curtain 'round instead.
They had a tricked-out Vanagon.
We had a clapped-out Chevy van
When Rebecca was eleven and I was a no-account know-nothing nipper of ten.

ch
But ever since then, oh ever since then
It's never been the same and it'll never be again
As when Rebecca was eleven and I was ten,
Rebecca in the willow in the hollow by the river
In the long hot summer of the best year ever
And ever and ever, amen.

3.
Alan said he'd seen down Rebecca's shirt, he said,
And what he'd seen, he said, looked sort of flat.
I told Rebecca I didn't care a heck of a lot for things like that.
'Cause I was a prat. (Subsequently changed to "And Alan was a brat!")
She sort of smiled, like they shouldn't, like they do,
Although I didn't know they shouldn't do then
When Rebecca was eleven and I was a new and clueless clown of ten.

4.
Follow me down, and we'll climb the pussy willow
In the hollow by the shallow river turning.
So she climbed and I followed,
And I looked up the leg of her shorts Which at least showed I was learning.
And we sat in the willow in the hollow by the shallow
Of the river where the minnow dodged the pike.
And Rebecca put her two tanned arms behind her head, and said
"Go on, then, you can kiss me if you like."

bridge
And the golden down on the brown of her skin,
And the moon-white scar on the point of her chin,
And the eucalyptal taste of sin For the first time…

ch
And ever since then, oh ever since then
It's never been the same and it'll never be again
As when Rebecca was eleven and I was ten,
Rebecca in the willow in the hollow by the river
In the long hot summer of the best year ever
And ever and ever, amen.

And I never saw Rebecca again.