THE
BANKS OF THE NILE
Hark, hark! my dear, the drums do beat, and I must away;
The trumpet loudly calls me, no longer I can stay,
We are called up to Portsmouth, it's many a long mile,
All for to be embarked for the Banks of the Nile.
We must leave off our Sweethearts,
Likewise, our native soil,
And join the British Army
On the Banks of the Nile.
O no, my dearest Billy, would you leave me here forlorn;
You will make me sigh, and rue the day that ever I was born;
For the parting with you, my dear, is the parting with my life!
So stay at home, dear Billy, love, and make me your wife.
We must leave off, &c.
O on, my dearest Nancy, sure that can never do!
For Government has ordered no woman there to go
For Government has ordered the King he does Command.
And we are bound by oath my dear, to serve in foreign land.
We must leave off, &c.
