War, the Liberator, and Other Pieces/Four and Twenty Bombers
FOUR AND TWENTY BOMBERS
Tune—‘‘The Ball at Kirriemuir”
OH, four and twenty bombers, Gaed oot at La Boisselle,An’ only ane cam’ back again, Remarkin’ it was hell.
Chorus—Singing ‘‘Wha’ll dae’t the next time?Chorus—Singing “ Wha’ll dae’t the noo?Chorus—Singing “ The lads that did it last timeChorus—Singing “ Cannae dae it noo.”
We bombed’em for fower hours, Until we had tae stop,An’ then there was a row o’ duds Upon the crater top.
Chorus—Singing, etc.
Sae here’s tae the Kaiser,We’ll soon hae’s blood,If we cannae throw a liveWe can aye buzz a dud. -
Chorus—Singing, etc.
This choice lyric, from which the best verse is omitted, for obvious reasons, is set to an ancient and disreputable Scotch ballad.