The Minstrel sitting down to dine To retrospection doth incline; "A faultless figure, watchet eyes As sweet as early summer skies! What pretty hands, what subtle grace, And what a winsome little face!" In Mrs. Williams' driest sherry He toasts the Lass of Bolney Ferry!
O, HAD I but a fairy yacht, I know quite well what I would do-- I soon would sail away with Dot!
I'd quickly weave a cunning plot, Had I but fairies for my crew-- O, had I but a fairy yacht!
I'd soon be off just like a shot, Far, far across the ocean blue; I soon would sail away with Dot!
What happiness would be my lot, With nought to do all day but woo-- O, had I but a fairy yacht!
To some sweet unfrequented spot-- If I but thought that hearts were true-- I soon would sail away with Dot! I'd sail away, not minding what, My friends approve, or foes pooh-pooh-- O, had I but a fairy yacht!
For name or fame care not a jot, I'd leave behind no trace or clue-- I soon would sail away with Dot!
Forgetting all, by all forgot, I'd live and love the whole day through-- O, had I but a fairy yacht!
In distant lands I'd build a cot, And live alone with I know who-- I soon would sail away with Dot!
I'd start at once--O, would I not? If I were only twenty-two-- O, had I but a fairy yacht, I soon would sail away with Dot!
OUR Crew it is stalwart, our Crew it is smart, But needeth refreshment at noon; Let's land at the lawn of the cheery "White Hart," Now gay with the glamour of June! For here can we lunch to the music of trees-- In sight of the swift river running-- Off cuts of cold beef and a prime Cheddar cheese, And a tankard of bitter at Sonning!
The garden is lovely, the host is polite, His rose-trees are ruddy with bloom, The snowy-clad table with tankards bedight, And pleasant that quaint little room; So sit down at once, at your inn take your ease-- No man of our Crew will be shunning-- A cut of cold beef and a prime Cheddar cheese, And a tankard of bitter at Sonning!
We've had a long pull, and our hunger is keen, We've all a superb appetite! The lettuce is crisp, and the cresses are green, The ale it is beady and bright; New potatoes galore, and delicious green peas-- The Skipper avers they are "stunning"-- With cuts of cold beef and a prime Cheddar cheese, And a tankard of bitter at Sonning!