Songs of a Savoyard | Page 3

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Songs of a Savoyard by W. S. Gilbert
Scanned and proofed by David
Price, email [email protected]

Songs of a Savoyard
Contents:
The Darned Mounseer
The Englishman
The Disagreeable Man

The Coming By-And-By
The Highly Respectable Gondolier
The
Fairy Queen's Song
Is Life A Boon
The Modern Major-General

The Heavy Dragoon
Proper Pride
The Policeman's Lot
The
Baffled Grumbler
The House Of Peers
A Merry Madrigal
The
Duke And The Duchess
Eheu Fugaces -!
They'll None Of `Em Be
Missed
Girl Graduates
Braid The Raven Hair
The Working
Monarch
The Ape And The Lady
Only Roses
The Rover's
Apology
An Appeal
The Reward Of Merit
The Magnet And The
Churn
The Family Fool
Sans Souci
A Recipe
The Merryman
And His Maid
The Susceptible Chancellor
When A Merry Maiden
Marries
The British Tar
A Man Who Would Woo A Fair Maid

The Sorcerer's Song
The Fickle Breeze
The First Lord's Song

Would You Know?
Speculation
Ah Me!
The Duke Of Plaza-Toro

The Aesthete
Said I To Myself, Said I
Sorry Her Lot
The
Contemplative Sentry
The Philosophic Pill
Blue Blood
The
Judge's Song
When I First Put This Uniform On
Solatium
A
Nightmare
Don't Forget!
The Suicide's Grave
He And She
The
Mighty Must
A Mirage
The Ghosts' High Noon
The Humane
Mikado
Willow Waly!
Life Is Lovely All The Year
The Usher's
Charge
The Great Oak Tree
King Goodheart
Sleep On!
The
Love-Sick Boy
Poetry Everywhere
He Loves!
True Diffidence

The Tangled Skein
My Lady
One Against The World
Put A
Penny In The Slot
Good Little Girls
Life
Limited Liability

Anglicised Utopia
An English Girl
A Manager's Perplexities
Out
Of Sorts
How It's Done
A Classical Revival
The Practical Joker

The National Anthem
Her Terms
The Independent Bee
The

Disconcerted Tenor
The Played-Out Humorist
Ballad: The Darned Mounseer
I shipped, d'ye see, in a Revenue sloop,
And, off Cape Finisteere,
A
merchantman we see,
A Frenchman, going free,
So we made for the
bold Mounseer,
D'ye see?
We made for the bold Mounseer!
But
she proved to be a Frigate - and she up with her ports, And fires with a
thirty-two!
It come uncommon near,
But we answered with a cheer,

Which paralysed the Parley-voo,
D'ye see?
Which paralysed the
Parley-voo!
Then our Captain he up and he says, says he,
"That chap we need not
fear, -
We can take her, if we like,
She is sartin for to strike,
For
she's only a darned Mounseer,
D'ye see?
She's only a darned
Mounseer!
But to fight a French fal-lal - it's like hittin' of a gal - It's a
lubberly thing for to do;
For we, with all our faults,
Why, we're
sturdy British salts,
While she's but a Parley-voo,
D'ye see?
A
miserable Parley-voo!"
So we up with our helm, and we scuds before the breeze,
As we gives
a compassionating cheer;
Froggee answers with a shout
As he sees
us go about,
Which was grateful of the poor Mounseer,
D'ye see?

Which was grateful of the poor Mounseer!
And I'll wager in their joy
they kissed each other's cheek
(Which is what them furriners do),

And they blessed their lucky stars
We were hardy British tars
Who
had pity on a poor Parley-voo,
D'ye see?
Who had pity on a poor
Parley-voo!
Ballad: The Englishman
He is an Englishman!
For he himself has said it,

And it's greatly to
his credit,
That he is an Englishman!
For he might have been a
Roosian,
A French, or Turk, or Proosian,
Or perhaps Itali-an!
But
in spite of all temptations,
To belong to other nations,
He remains

an Englishman!
Hurrah!
For the true-born Englishman!
Ballad: The Disagreeable Man
If you give me your attention, I will tell you what I am:
I'm a genuine
philanthropist - all other kinds are sham.
Each little fault of temper
and each social defect
In my erring fellow-creatures, I endeavour to
correct.
To all their little weaknesses I open people's eyes,
And
little plans to snub the self-sufficient I devise;
I love my
fellow-creatures - I do all the good I can -
Yet everybody says I'm
such a disagreeable man!
And I can't think why!
To compliments inflated I've a withering reply,
And vanity I always
do my best to mortify;
A charitable action I can skilfully dissect;

And interested motives I'm delighted to detect.
I know everybody's
income and what everybody earns,
And I carefully compare it with
the income-tax returns;
But to benefit humanity, however much I plan,

Yet everybody says I'm such a disagreeable man!
And I can't think
why!
I'm sure I'm no ascetic; I'm as pleasant as can be;
You'll always find
me ready with a crushing repartee;
I've an irritating chuckle, I've a
celebrated sneer,
I've an entertaining snigger, I've a fascinating leer;

To everybody's prejudice I know a thing or two;
I can tell a
woman's age in half a minute - and I do -
But although I try to make
myself as pleasant as I can,
Yet everybody says I'm such a
disagreeable man!
And I can't think why!
Ballad: The Coming By-And-By
Sad is that woman's lot who, year by year,
Sees, one by one, her
beauties disappear;
As Time, grown weary of her heart-drawn sighs,

Impatiently begins to "dim her eyes"! -
Herself compelled, in life's
uncertain gloamings,
To wreathe her wrinkled brow with well-saved

"combings" -
Reduced, with rouge, lipsalve, and pearly grey,
To
"make up" for lost time, as best she may!
Silvered is the raven hair,
Spreading is the