A SONG

Of Catesby, Faux, and Garnet,
    a story I'le you tell-a,
And of a Rare Plott,
    ne're to be forgott,
And eke how it befell-a.

All on the 4th of November, [1605
    the Papists they had a drift-a
Quite to destroy
    brave England's joy,
And to blow it all vp on the fifth-a.

Soe many Barrells of Gunpowder,
    the like was never seen-a,
That eke that match
    had chanc'd to catch,
Good Lord, where should we all have been-a?

Why we should all have been slaine outright,
    for marke what these varlets had don- a,
They had sett so many Barrells
    to decide all our Quarrells,
Nay they had don't as sure as a Gun-a. [done it

O Varlets that esteeme noe more
    3 Kingdoms than 3 shillings!
It were a Good deed
    to hang 'm with Speed,-
Oh out vppon them Villaines!

But now these Papists their designs
    we care not for a louse-a;
For fit as it was,
    it soe came to passe
The the Plot was blown vp, not the house-a.

For our King he went to the Parliament
    to meet his Noble Peers-a;
But if he had knowne
    where he should have been blown,
He durst not have gon for his Eares-a.

Then, "Powder I smell," quothe our gracious King
    (now our King was an excellent smeller);
And lowder and lowder,
    quoth the King, "I smell powder";
And downe he run into the Cellar.

And when he came the Cellar into,
    and was the danger amid-a,
He found that the traine
    had not been in vaine,
Had he not come downe as he did-a.

Then the Noble-men that there stood by
    and heard the words of the King-a,-
"Ah, my Soul, if the Fire
    had come a little higher,
'Twould have made vs all flye without wings-a!

[This seems to be the earliest extant ditty on the gunpowder plot. No tune cited in MS.]