Ballads, English -- England -- Texts; Ballads, Scots -- Scotland -- Texts
The Spaniards at that sight,
Saw 'twas in vain to fight,
Hung up their flags of truce, 85
Yielding the town;
We march'd in presently,
Decking the walls on high
With our English colours,
Which purchas'd renown. 90
Dub a-dub, &c.
Ent'ring the houses then,
And of the richest men,
For gold and treasure
We searchèd each day;
In some places we did find 95
Pye baking in the oven,
Meat at the fire roasting,
And men run away.
Dub a-dub, &c.
Full of rich merchandise,
Every shop we did see, 100
Damask and sattins
And velvet full fair;
Which soldiers measure out
By the length of their swords;
Of all commodities, 105
Each one hath share.
Dub a-dub, &c.
Thus Cales was taken,
And our brave general
March'd to the market-place,
There he did stand; 110
There many prisoners
Of good account were took;
Many crav'd mercy,
And mercy they found.
Dub a-dub, &c.
When as our general 115
Saw they delayèd time,
And would not ransom
The town as they said,
With their fair wainscots,
Their presses and bedsteads, 120
Their joint-stools and tables,
A fire we made:
And when the town burnt in a flame,
With tan-ta-ra, tan-ta-ra-ra,
From thence we came. 125
SIR JOHN SUCKLING'S CAMPAIGN.
"When the Scottish Covenanters rose up in arms, and advanced to the
English borders in 1639, many of the courtiers complimented the king
by raising forces at their own expense. Among these none were more
distinguished than the gallant Sir John Suckling, who raised a troop
of horse, so richly accoutred, that it cost him 12,000_l._ The like
expensive equipment of other parts of the army made the king remark,
that "the Scots would fight stoutly, if it were but for the
Englishmen's fine cloaths." When they came to action, the rugged Scots
proved more than a match for the fine showy English: many of whom
behaved remarkably ill, and among the rest this splendid troop of Sir
John Suckling's." PERCY.
This scoffing ballad, sometimes attributed to Suckling himself, is
taken from the _Musarum Deliciæ_ of Sir John Mennis and Dr. James
Smith (p. 81 of the reprint, _Upon Sir John Sucklings most warlike
preparations for the Scotish warre_). The former is said by Wood to
have been the author. Percy's copy (_Reliques_, ii. 341) has one or
two different readings.--The first stanza is a parody on _John Dory_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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