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Songs, comic and satyrical

By George Alexander Stevens. A new edition, Corrected
 

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The ORIGIN OF TOLL, LOLL, LOLL.

[_]

Tune,—As one day at home in a maudlinish mood.

I'll sing you a song, and I'll sing all about it,
Or in tune or out on't, you need not to doubt it,
My tune is Toll, toll, toll, loll, loll,
Stoccatos, Chromatics, Rests, Crotchets, and Chords,
Deep Tenors, sharp Trebles, with Fifths Eighths, and Thirds,
Are sounds without Sense; Common Sense come before us;
So silence each Solfa let's Toll, toll, toll, chorus,
And nothing but Toll, toll, toll, toll, toll, toll.
If word-gnawing Critics grammatical bawl,
Unde derivatur, Sir, this Toll, toll, toll?
“I answer, from Loll, loll, loll, loll, loll, loll.”
And pray what is Loll, loll, loll, perge, quoth Pedant?
Profecto, continues he, I never read on't;
What part of Speech are you, this Toll, loll, loll, making?
“The only part, sir, of the whole that's worth taking,”
Toll, loll, loll, &c.
The Verb which Love conjugates, Nature's the tutor,
Both active and passive, but sometimes stands neuter,
Toll, loll, loll, &c.
When wantonly wish'd for, optative Mood makes it;
When promis'd in future, Hope happily takes it.
Of all Terminations respecting the Tenses,
The present is always the best for the Senses.
Toll, loll, loll, &c.

27

But let us for once, tho' become something ser'ous;
The Black Joke's a tune, that mayhap is mister'us,
Who knows what is hid under Toll, loll, loll, loll.
What is under, or in it, or what is about it,
Perhaps has a meaning, perhaps is without it;
It may be thought Wit, but that wou'd be wonder;
It may be a single, or double Entendre,
Toll, loll, de roll, &c.
If you have, or if you have not, read a Hist'ry,
If you are Free-mason'd, and understand Mist'ry,
Toll, loll, loll, loll, loll, is Loll toll, toll, toll.
If more may be made on't, I beg to know what,
It may be, or mayn't be, it can, or cannot;
For how be it, hereby, so be it, and so forth,
But good friends excuse me, indeed I must go forth.
Toll, loll, de rol, &c.