HARK to Winchester: Or, the Yorkshire Volunteers’ Farewell to the Good Folks of Stockton
Tune,—Push about the Jorum.
Ye Stockton lads and lasses too,
Come listen to my story;
A dismal tale, because ’tis true,
I’ve now to lay before ye:
We must away, our rout is come,
We scarce refrain from tears, O:
Shrill shrieks the fife, rough roars the drum,—
March, Yorkshire Volunteers, O!
Fal lal lal la ral.
Yet ere we part, my comrades say,
Come, Stockhore74, you’re the poet,
If e’er you pen’d a grateful lay,
’Tis now the time to show it.
Such usage fair in this good town,
We’ve met from age and youth, sirs,
Accept our grateful thanks, and own
A poet sings the truth, sirs.
Fal lal, &c.
Ye lasses too, of all I see,
The fairest in the nation;
Sweet buds of beauty’s blooming tree,
The top of the creation;
Full many of our lads I ween,
Have got good wives and true, sirs;
I wonder what our leaders mean,
They have not done so too, sirs.
Fal lal, &c.
Perhaps——but hark! the thund’ring drum,
From love to arms is beating;
Our country calls; we come, we come,
Great George’s praise repeating:
He’s great and good, long may he here
Reign, every bliss possessing;
And long may each true volunteer
Behold him Britain’s blessing.
Fal lal, &c.
Our valiant Earl shall lead us on
The nearest way to glory,
Bright honour hails her darling son,
And fame records his story.
Dundas commands upon our lists
The second; though on earth, sirs,
No one he’s second to exists,
For courage, sense, and worth, sirs.
Fal lal, &c.
No venal muse before your view
Next sets a vet’ran bold, sirs,
The praise to merit justly due,
From Paul she cannot hold, sirs,
His valour oft has bore the test,
In war he’s brisk and handy;
His private virtues stand confest,
In short, he’s quite the dandy.
Fal lal, &c.
Brave Mackarel heads his grenadiers,
They’re just the lads to do it,
And should the Dons, or lank Monsieurs
Come here, he’ll make them rue it:
He’ll roar his thunders, make them flee,
With a tow, row, row, row, ra ra;
And do them o’er by land,——at sea,
As Rodney did Langara.
Fal lal, &c.
Young Thompson, with his lads so light
Of foot, with hearts of steel, O,
His country’s cause will nobly fight,
And make her foes to feel, O:
For should the frog-fed sons of Gaul
Come capering, a la Francois,
My lads, said he, we’ll teach them all
The Light Bob country-dance a.
Fal lal, &c.
Our leaders all, so brave and bold,
Should I in verse recite a,
A baggage waggon would not hold
The songs that I could write, a:
Their deeds so great, their words so mild,
O take our worst commander,
And to him Cæsar was a child,
And so was Alexander.
Fal lal, &c.
Such men as these we’ll follow thro’
The world, and brave all danger;
Each volunteer is firm and true,
His heart’s to fear a stranger.——
Good Folks, farewell! God bless the king,
With angels centry o’er him,
Now, Hark, to Winchester! we’ll sing,
And push about the Jorum!
Fal lal lal la ral.
Notes
74 Herbert Stockhore, a private, the pretended author.