English poem
(The Kaiser’S Song.)
by George R. Sims (1847–1922)
AIR.--“I winna gang back to my mammy again.”
I winna gang back to auld Bizzy again, I’ll never gang back to auld Bizzy again; I’ve held by his coat-tails this aught months and ten, But I’ll never gang back to auld Bizzy again. I’ve held by his coat-tails, etc.
Caprivi came down i’ the gloaming to woo, He lookit sae bonnie and honest and true; “Oh, com’ awa’, Willie, ne’er let Bizzy ken;” And I made young Caprivi the best o’ my men, Oh, com’ awa’, Willie, etc.
He told me whatever I would I might do, And pressed hame his words wi’ a smile on his mou’, So I fell on his bosom, and said, “Ye maun reign, For aiblins ye’ll leave me a will o’ my ain.” So I fell on his bosom, etc.
For many lang months sin’ I cam’ to the crown Auld Bizzy’s been hecklin’ and haudin’ me down; I’ve held by his coat-tails this aught months and ten, But I’ll never gang back to auld Bizzy again. I’ve held by his coat-tails, etc.
The Last Resource.
At forty-three, in broken health, The heel of Fate has crushed my pride; No joy I find in work or wealth-- There’s nothing left but suicide.
The wind blows ever from the east; It’s madness now my trike to ride; My pony’s lame, poor little beast-- There’s nothing left but suicide.
My hair is thin, my face is fat, My waist is spreading far and wide; Last week I lost my favourite cat-- There’s nothing left but suicide.
I am not starred on any bills, The critics all my work deride; I’m sick of taking draughts and pills-- There’s nothing left but suicide.
I am too sad to make a joke, The girl I love’s another’s bride; The doctors will not let me smoke-- There’s nothing left but suicide.
My house, I find, is built on clay, In vain to let it I have tried; The income tax is due to-day-- There’s nothing left but suicide.
What’s this?--a box of chocolates, With pale pink ribbon neatly tied? The “sweets of life” again, O Fates, I taste, and laugh at suicide.
Ye Bars and Gates.
Ye bars and gates o’ Bloomsbury, How can ye stand so silent there? How can ye, knowing ye are doomed, From some sma’ signs o’ grief forbear? He’ll break his heart, will Bedford’s duke, Whose grandeur County Councils spurn, As he bemoans his feudal rights-- Departed never to return.
Ye bars and gates, ye’re comin’ doon; No more ye’ll block the freeman’s path, And make the traveller lose his train, Or rouse the British cabman’s wrath. Wi’ lightsome heart we root ye up, And leave the streets o’ London free; And there’s but one will mourn your loss, And that’s his grace the Duke of B.
Portrait of a Prince.