Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE HUMOURS OF LONDON, SELECTION, by GEORGE ALEXANDER STEPHENS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE HUMOURS OF LONDON, SELECTION, by                    
First Line: What are misses, the muses, to mine mouldy casks?
Last Line: Sing tantarrara.
Subject(s): Drinks & Drinking; Wine


What are misses, the muses, to mine mouldy casks?
Or the tea-table's splendour to splendid full flasks?
What is Pegasus good for? Yes, he shall be mine,
I'll keep him as porter to fly for my wine.
Sing tantarrara.

In daisy-decked meads, when the birds whistle round,
How shrill is their music, how simple the sound!
Give me the bell's tinkle, a fat landlord's roar,
And a good fellow's order—"Boy, six bottles more."
Sing tantarrara.

Can music or verse, love or landscape bestow
A six-bottle sound, or a six-bottle show?
Could I meet them at midnight, their bottoms I'd try,
Who first should give out, Faith, the bottles or I.
Sing tantarrara,

This tuning and piping, no longer I'll bear it,
What's all pipes of music to one pipe of claret?
By my soul, bucks, I love it, and why, would you
Drink only as I've done, you'd all love it too.
Sing tantarrara.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net