A Song in Praise of the Keelmen Volunteers. On Board the Lapwing Frigate
Tune—White Cockade.
Come fill a bumper to the brim,
And drink success to George our king;
Of France and Spain let’s not be fear’d,
Since our Keel Lads have volunteer’d
To meet the proud and daring foe,
And let the haughty Frenchmen know,
That our Keel Lads are brave and free,
And Neptune’s favourites will be.
Zephyr, blow your gentle gales,
And fill our Keel Lads’ shiv’ring sails,
And waft them o’er the raging sea;
For our defenders they will be:
Lo! Duncan of the Texel boasts,
Nelson them in the Nile did toast;
The British flag they’re sure to sway,
And Frenchmen take to Norway.
With spirits heroic and sublime,
Our lads are brought up on the Tyne;
They will our foes with sorrow fill,
When once they sail from Newcastle:
Where bullets fly and cannons roar,
They’ll sweep the seas from shore to shore;
And all the world their wonders tell:
Huzza, Keel Lads of Newcastle!