 | The Ingoldsby Lyrics |  |
57
La Belle Ordamis.
March, march, march away, pretty ones,
See where the road to distinction's before ye;
March, march, country and city ones,
Follow the lass that will lead ye to glory.
See where the road to distinction's before ye;
March, march, country and city ones,
Follow the lass that will lead ye to glory.
58
On with the pretty coat—off with the petticoat,
Stays and tight-lacing no longer shall teaze us;
Cast away all clothes for jacket and small clothes,
And hey for a peep into Peloponnesus!
March, march, etc.
Stays and tight-lacing no longer shall teaze us;
Cast away all clothes for jacket and small clothes,
And hey for a peep into Peloponnesus!
March, march, etc.
Come then, sweet damsels, all sorts and all sizes,
Maids, widows, wives, “unequivocals,” come!
Think, only think, girls, how glorious the prize is;
Up with the musket and follow the drum!
Equal in bustle men—down with the Mussulmen;
Bound o'er the rock, o'er the precipice clamber.
O! how delightful to get some great frightful
Bewhisker'd Grand Turk for a valet de chambre!
March, march, etc.
Maids, widows, wives, “unequivocals,” come!
Think, only think, girls, how glorious the prize is;
Up with the musket and follow the drum!
Equal in bustle men—down with the Mussulmen;
Bound o'er the rock, o'er the precipice clamber.
O! how delightful to get some great frightful
Bewhisker'd Grand Turk for a valet de chambre!
March, march, etc.
Then, little darlings, O, think when you're arming,
While each lovely bosom is swelling with pride;
The helm how becoming, the white plume how charming,
How charming the dear little sword by your side!
Teach these he-creatures, in spite of soft features
You have spirit enough soon to set them to rights;
Handle your daggers well, talk loud and swagger well,
Just like Miss Love or Miss Graddon in tights.
March, march, etc.
While each lovely bosom is swelling with pride;
The helm how becoming, the white plume how charming,
How charming the dear little sword by your side!
Teach these he-creatures, in spite of soft features
You have spirit enough soon to set them to rights;
Handle your daggers well, talk loud and swagger well,
Just like Miss Love or Miss Graddon in tights.
March, march, etc.
59
And O, when at length your campaigning all over,
The Ottomites crush'd and enfranchis'd the Greeks,
Ye fly to the arms of some fond faithful lover,
And covered with glory get rid of the breeks.
The fame of Ordamis, or whatever her name is,
Shall live with your own still recorded in story,
While fathers cry “D—me, sons, think on the Amazons,
They were the girls for gallanting and glory!”
The Ottomites crush'd and enfranchis'd the Greeks,
Ye fly to the arms of some fond faithful lover,
And covered with glory get rid of the breeks.
The fame of Ordamis, or whatever her name is,
Shall live with your own still recorded in story,
While fathers cry “D—me, sons, think on the Amazons,
They were the girls for gallanting and glory!”
March, march, then march away, pretty ones,
See where the road to distinction's before ye;
March, march, merry, foolish, or witty ones,
Follow the lass that will lead you to glory.
See where the road to distinction's before ye;
March, march, merry, foolish, or witty ones,
Follow the lass that will lead you to glory.
| The Ingoldsby Lyrics | |