Ballads, English -- England -- Texts; Ballads, Scots -- Scotland -- Texts
Protestant boys, both valliant and stout,
Fear not the strength and frown of Rome,
Thousands of them are put to the rout,
Brave Londonderry tells 'um their doom.
For their cannons roar like thunder, 5
Being resolved the town to maintain
For William and Mary, still brave Londonderry
Will give the proud French and Tories their bane.
Time after time, with powder and balls,
Protestant souls they did 'um salute, 10
That before Londonderry's stout walls
Many are slain and taken to boot.
Nay, their noble Duke of Berwick,[L13]
Many reports, is happily tane,
Where still they confine him, and will not resign him,
Till they have given the Tories their bane. 16
Into the town their bombs they did throw,
Being resolved to fire the same,
Hoping thereby to lay it all low,
Could they but raise it into a flame. 20
But the polititious Walker,[L21]
By an intreague did quail them again,
And blasted the glory of French, Teague, and Tory;
By policy, boys, he gave them their bane.
Thundering stones they laid on the wall, 25
Ready against the enemy came,
With which they vow'd the Tories to mawl,
Whene'er they dare approach but the same.
And another sweet invention,
The which in brief I reckon to name; 30
A sharp, bloody slaughter did soon follow after,
Among the proud French, and gave them their bane.
Stubble and straw in parcels they laid,
The which they straightways kindled with speed;
By this intreague the French was betrayed, 35
Thinking the town was fired indeed.
Then they placed their scaling ladders,
And o'er the walls did scour amain;
Yet strait, to their wonder, they were cut in sunder,
Thus Frenchmen and Tories met with their bane. 40
Suddenly then they opened their gate,
Sallying forth with vigor and might;
And, as the truth I here may relate,
Protestant boys did valliantly fight,
Taking many chief commanders, 45
While the sharp fray they thus did maintain,
With vigorous courses, they routed their forces,
And many poor Teagues did meet with their bane.
While with their blood the cause they have sealed,
Heaven upon their actions did frown; 50
Protestants took the spoil of the field,
Cannons full five they brought to the town.
With a lusty, large, great mortar,
Thus they returned with honor and gain,
While Papists did scour from Protestant power, 55
As fearing they all should suffer their bane.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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