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BEGGAR'S LAMENT, by             Poem Explanation        
First Line: The beggars are ruined oh, dear, - oh, dear
Last Line: Let beggarly britons get fat in their stead


The beggars are ruined, oh dear, oh dear,
The beggars are ruined, oh dear!
They're driven away from the barn and the byre,
And never a farthing have they, oh dear!
The nobles are down to their very last groat,
And the farmers are gripp'd by the throat,
The clergy are sunk in their own gravy-boat,
And the beggars are ruined, oh dear!
The King is in want of a dinner to-day,
And the Courtiers have nothing to pay,
The Lawyers are fast getting out of the way,
And the beggars are ruined, oh dear!
The doctors are ill, and their patients dead,
The divines are all in the same bed,
The players are looking uncommonly red,
And the beggars are ruined, oh dear!
The rich and the poor now for bread do contend,
And the lawyers, who've all lost their fees,
Would hang up the law, if they had it to lend,
To make for themselves a bit of a frieze.
Oh, pity the poor, and let charity prove
That wealth has a duty to do,
For if poverty once drives a man to his wits,
He'll do, you may wager, for you.
Then remember the poor, who the winter must brave,
With nothing their stomachs to cheer;
No houses, no lodgings, no blankets to save,
And the snow blowing keen in their ear.
God help the poor, and their sufferings abate,
And those who've enough be sincere,
Give, give, to the poor till your coffers be empty,
And then, you may pity the peer.
Let beggarly Britons get fat in their stead,
And be bountiful, kind, and sincere,
And as they have sown, so may they all reap,
With plenty of money and cheer.




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