The masquerade and other poems | ||
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THE MERRY MONARCH.
(Imitated from Béranger's “Le Roi d'Yvetot.”)
I.
In Normandy there reigned a king,(I 've quite forgot his name,)
Who led a jolly sort of life,
And did n't care for fame.
A nightcap was his crown of state,
Which Jenny placed upon his pate:
Ha! ha!—laugh and sing:
O was n't he a funny king?
II.
He ate his meals, like other folk,Slept soundly and secure,
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He made his royal tour;
A little dog—it was his whim—
Was body-guard enough for him:
Ha! ha!—laugh and sing:
O was n't he a funny king?
III.
A single foible he confessed,—A tendency to drink;
But kings who heed their subjects' need,
Should mind their own, I think;
And thus it was his tax he got,—
For every cask an extra pot:
Ha! ha!—laugh and sing:
O was n't he a funny king?
IV.
The lasses loved this worthy king;And many a merry youth
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And often spoke the truth.
He viewed his troops in goodly ranks,
But still their cartridges were blanks.
Ha! ha!—laugh and sing:
O was n't he a funny king?
V.
He never stole his neighbors' landTo magnify his realm;
But steered his little ship of state
With honor at the helm;
And when at last the king was dead,
No wonder all the people said:—
“Ah! ah!—weep and sing:
O was n't he a noble king?”
The masquerade and other poems | ||