 | The Poems of Sir William Watson |  |
TAVERN SONG
I
When winterly weather doth pierce to the skin,Then hey! for a bottle of wine from the bin;
And hey! for a tankard, and ho! for a tankard,
Sing ho! for a tankard of ale at the inn.
It's hey! for a bottle, it's ho! for a bottle,
Sing ho! for a bottle of wine from the bin;
And it's hey! for a tankard, it's ho! for a tankard,
Sing ho! for a tankard of ale at the inn.
244
II
The squire's at the Hall with his kith and his kin;He'll drink like a hero till daylight begin,
With hey! for a bottle, with ho! for a bottle,
A mellow old bottle of wine from the bin.
Sing hey! for a bottle, a mellow old bottle,
Sing ho! for a bottle of wine from the bin,
And sing hey! for a tankard, a right flowing tankard,
Sing ho! for a tankard of ale at the inn.
III
The parson, God bless him, he says it's no sin,When winterly weather hath made the blood thin,
To toss off a tankard, to toss off a tankard,
To toss off a tankard of ale at the inn.
So it's hey! for a bottle, a bottle, a bottle,
It's ho! for a bottle of wine from the bin,
And it's hey! for a tankard, a heart-easing tankard,
It's ho! for a tankard of ale at the inn.
IV
For duns and the devil he cares not a pinWho is rich in a bottle of wine from his bin,
And the cream of all wisdom is quaffed from a tankard,
A heart-easing tankard of ale at the inn.
Then hey! for a bottle, a mellow old bottle,
Then ho! for a bottle of wine from the bin,
And hey! for a tankard, a fair foaming tankard,
And ho! for a tankard of ale at the inn.
V
The lads must have lasses and woo them, and win,And the business of wives is to bake and to spin,
245
But men love a tankard of ale at the inn.
Then hey! for a bottle, then ho! for a bottle,
Sing ho! for a bottle of wine from the bin,
And it's hey! for a tankard, a tankard, a tankard,
And ho! for a tankard of ale at the inn.
| The Poems of Sir William Watson | |