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REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE TO GEORGE II. |
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The cheerful parish bells had rung; With eager steps he trudg'd along ; Sweet flow'ry garlands round him hung,
Which shepherds us'd to wear: He tapp'd the window—" Haste, my dear,' Jenny, impatient, cried, "Who's there? " " Tis I, my love, and no one near ; Step gently down, you've naught to fear
With Jockey, to the fair.
Step gently," &c.
" My dad and mammy're fast asleep, My brother's up, and with the sheep; And will you still your promise keep,
Which I have heard you swear ? And will you ever constant prove ? " " I will, by all the pow'rs above, And ne'er deceive my charming dove: Dispel these doubts, and haste, my love,
With Jockey to the fair.
Dispel these doubts," &c. |
"Behold the ring," the shepherd cried; " Will Jenny be my charming bride ? Let Cupid be our happy guide,
And Hymen meet us there! " Then Jockey did his vows renew; He would be constant, would be true; His word was pledg'd—away she flew, With cowslips sparkling with the dew,
With Jockey to the fair.
With cowslips, &c.
Soon did they meet a joyful throng, Their gay companions, blithe and young, Each joins the dance, each joins the song,
To hail the happy pair. What two were e'er so fond as they ? All bless the kind, propitious day, The smiling morn and blooming May, When lovely Jenny ran away
With Jockey to the'fair.
When lovely Jenny, &c. |
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The following song was recently written for me to the above air, by Charles Mackay:— |
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"When swallows dart from cottage eaves, And farmers dream of barley sheaves; When apples peep amid the leaves,
And woodbines scent the way, We love to fly from daily care, To breathe the buxom country air, To join our hands and form a ring, To laugh and sport, to dance and sing, Amid the new-mown hay. To laugh, &c. |
We've room for all, whoe'er they be, Who have a heart for harmless glee, And in the shadow of our tree
Can fling their pride away. So, join our sport, ye maidens true, With eyes of beaming black or blue ; Come youth, come age, come childhood fair, We've welcome kind, and room to spare,
Amid the new-mown hay.
We've welcome," &c. |
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THE GOLDEN DAYS OF GOOD QUEEN BESS. The earliest form in which I have found this tune is as " No more, fair virgins, boast your power," introduced in Love in a riddle, in 1729. It has three other names, " The golden days of good Queen Bess," " Ally Croaker," and " Unfortunate Miss Bailey."
" The golden days of good Queen Bess" was written by Collins, and not improbably for one of the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth's birthday, which were so much in vogue, as anti-jacobite demonstrations, during the last century (see p. 568 and note). The words consist of eleven stanzas, and commence thus:— " To my muse give attention, and deem it not a mystery, If we jumble together music, poetry, and history ; The times to display in the days of Queen Bess, Sir, Whose name and whose memory posterity may bless, Sir. 0 the golden days of good Queen Bess, Merry be the memory of good Queen Bess." In Bell's Rhymes of Northern Bards, Newcastle, 1812, is " Barber's News, or Shields in an uproar," to the tune of 0 the golden days of good Queen Bess. " Ally Croaker " is a song by Foote, in his comedy, The Englishman in Paris, |
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