Unto my flock I daily preach'd,
Kings were by God appointed; And damn'd all those that dare resist Or touch the Lord's anointed.
And this is law I will maintain
Until my dying day, sir,
That, whatsoever king shall reign,
I will be Vicar of Bray, sir.
When royal James possess'd the crown,
And Popery grew in fashion,
The penal laws I hooted down,
And read the Declaration;
The church of Rome I found would fit
Full well my constitution;
And I had been a Jesuit
But for the Revolution.
And this is law, &c.
When William, our deliverer, came
To heal the nation's grievance,
Another face of things was seen-
I swore to him allegiance.
Old principles I did revoke,
Set conscience at a distance;
Passive obedience is a joke,
A jest is nonresistance.
And this is law, &c.
When royal Anne became our queen,
The Church of England's glory,
Another face of things was seen-
And I became a Tory.
Occasional conformists base
I damn'd, and moderation;
And thought the church in danger was
By such prevarication.
And this is law, &c.
When George in pudding-time came o'er,
And moderate men look'd big, sir,
My principles I changed once more,
And so became a Whig, sir.
And thus preferment I procured
From our Faith's great Defender;
And almost every day abjured
The Pope and the Pretender.
And this is law, &c.
The' illustrious House of Hanover,
And Protestant Succession,
To them I lustily will swear-
While they can keep possession.
For, in my faith and loyalty
I never once will falter;
But George my lawful king shall be-
Unless the times should alter.
And this is law, &c.
WHEN daisies pied, and violets blue,
And lady smocks all silver white,
And cuckoo buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then on every tree
Mocks married men, for thus sings he-
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo! cuckoo! - word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!
When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks,
When turtles tread and rooks and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks;
The cuckoo then on every tree
Mocks married men, for thus sings he-
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo! cuckoo! - word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!
WHEN icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail;
When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
Tu-whoo!
Tu-whit! tu-whoo! a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson's saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marion's nose looks red and raw;
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
Tu-whoo!
Tu-whit! tu-whoo! a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
SIGH no more, ladies, sigh no more;
Men were deceivers ever;
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny ;
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into hey nonny, nonny.
Sing no more ditties, sing no mo
Of dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leavy.
Then sigh not so, &c.
WHERE the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry;
On the bat's back I do fly,
After summer, merrily;
Merrily, merrily shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
TAKE, oh, take those lips away
That so sweetly were forsworn;
And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn:
But my kisses bring again,
Seals of love, but seal'd in vain!
Hide, oh, hide those hills of snow
Which thy frozen bosom bears;
On whose tops the pinks that grow
Are of those that April wears:
But first set my poor heart free,
Bound in those icy chains by thee!
SONG. TO CELIA.
DRINK to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine,
But might I of Jove's nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.
I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee,
As giving it a hope that there
It could not wither'd be;
But thou thereon didst only breathe,
And sent'st it back to me;
Since when it grows and smells, I swear,
Not of itself, but thee.
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