I'd Rather be an Englishman.
[Set to music, and may be had at Mr. J. Shepherd's, Newgate Street, London.]
I'd rather be an Englishman,
Whatever may betide,
And boast the proud possession
Of an Englishman's fireside—
I'd rather have old England,
As the land that gave me birth,
With all the faults they charge her with,
Than any place on earth.
The rabid voice of anarchy
May rave 'bout other climes.
But have they more of freedom there?
Or have they better times?
Is liberty of kinder growth—
Oppression quite unknown—
Or are the blessings they enjoy
Superior to our own?
The answer's No! a thousand times repeated—No! and then
A world's wide echo takes it up, and thunders No! again;
May no vile, frantic love of change, destroy or set aside
Those fine old Institutions for which our fathers died.
Sedition is, and ever was, a nation's greatest curse,
And only has the tendency of making bad things worse;
Convinced of this, come, let us join in one true loyal band,
And die for (if we 're called upon) our Queen and Native Land.
I'd rather be an Englishman, &c.
