The chorus of the song is:[1] Oh, my old man's a dustman He wears a dustman's hat He wears cor blimey trousers And he lives in a council flat The song was written by Lonnie Donegan, Peter Buchanan (Donegan's manager between 1956 and 1962),[2] and Beverly Thorn; Thorn was not credited on the original release.

According to his autobiography, Beverley Thorn was a pseudonym of Leslie Bricusse, the songwriter who wrote hit shows with Anthony Newley.

The melody is borrowed from the theme starting at around 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the music for the ballet Petrushka, composed by Igor Stravinsky.

[citation needed] The song represented a change in style for Donegan, away from American folk and towards British music hall.

A version titled "My Old Man's a Provo" became one of the most popular Irish republican rebel folk songs in the latter part of the twentieth century.