The Banks Of The Nile

The Banks of the Nile.

Hark! hark! the drums do beat, my love, and I must haste away,
The bugles sweetly sound, and no longer can I stay;
We are called up to Portsmouth many a long mile,
All for to be embarked for the banks of the NIle.
O Billy, dearest Billy, these words will break my heart,
Come let us now be married before that we do part;
For the parting from my Billy is the parting with my life–
O stay at home, dear Billy, make me your lawful wife.
O Nancy, dearest Nancy, sure that will never do,
For government has ordered no women there to go,
For government has ordered, the king he doth command,
And I’m bound on oath, my love, to serve on foreign land.
I’ll put on my velveteens, and go along with you,
I’ll volunteer my service, and I’ll go to Egypt too,
I’ll fight under your banner, kind fortune yet may smile,
And I’ll be your loving comrade on the banks of the Nile.
Your waist it is too slender, your complexion is too fine,
Your constitution is too weak, to stand this hot campagin;
For the sultry sun of Egypt your precious health would spoil,
And the hot sandy deserts on the banks of the Nile
Oh, cursed, cursed, be the day, that e’er the wars began!
For they’ve ta’en out of Scotland O many a pretty man,
They’ve ta’en from us our life-guards, protectors of our isle,
And their bodies feed the worms on the banks of the Nile.
Let a hundred days be darken’d, let maidens give a sigh,
Twould melt the very elements to hear the woudned cry;–
Let a hundred days be brightened, let maidens give a smile,
And remember Abercromby on the banks of the Nile.

*Transcriber’s note: Dugaw’s catalogue contains multiple variants of this ballad; this is the first of the variants listed. To review other variants of this ballad, please consult the Dugaw catalogue.

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BBO Roud Number: 950