Roundelay

Written for the Jubilee at Stratford-upon-Avon, 1769 Sisters of the tuneful train, Attend your parent' s jocund strain, 'Tis Fancy calls you; follow me To celebrate the Jubilee. On Avon's banks, where Shakespeare's bust Points out, and guards his sleeping dust; The sons of scenic mirth agree, To celebrate the Jubilee. Come, daughters, come, and bring with you, Th'aerial Sprites and Fairy-crew, And the sister Graces three, To celebrate the Jubilee. Hang around the sculptur'd tomb The 'broider'd vest, the nodding plume, And the mask of comic glee, To celebrate the Jubilee. From Birnam Wood, and Bosworth Field, Bring the standard, bring the shield, With drums and martial symphony, To celebrate the Jubilee. In mournful numbers now relate Poor Desdemona's hapless fate, With frantic deeds of jealousy, To celebrate the Jubilee. Nor be Windsor's Wives forgot, With their harmless merry plot, The whitening mead, and haunted tree, To celebrate the Jubilee. Now in jocund strains recite The humours of the braggard Knight, Fat Knight, and ancient Pistol he, To celebrate the Jubilee. But see in crowds the Gay, the Fair, To the splendid scene repair, A scene as line as fine can be, To celebrate the Jubilee.