The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #28733 Message #2690115
Posted By: Jim Dixon
30-Jul-09 - 12:58 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: The Alphabet Song variations
Subject: Lyr Add: THE TEMPERANCE ALPHABET.
From Temperance Anecdotes, Original and Selected by George Washington Bungay (New York: National Temperance Society and Publication House, 1873), page 263:
THE TEMPERANCE ALPHABET.
A is for Adder, that lies in the cup;
The drunkard don't see it, and so drinks it up.
B is for Bottle, marked "poison" thereon;
Touch not, taste not, nor handle, or you'll be undone.
C is for Conscience, which bids us beware
Of learning to drink, to lie, and to swear.
D is for Drunkard; just look at his nose;
How red are his eyes, and how dirty his clothes!
E is for Evening, when he goes out to drink;
What he knows does him harm, if he only would think.
F is for Fountain, so merry and clear;
Who only drink water have nothing to fear.
G is for Gin, that makes people lazy,
Then cross to their wives, and finally — crazy.
H is for Heaven, which no drunkard can know,
While drink holds him in bondage to sin and to woe.
I is for Inn; like a rat-trap, no doubt;
When once you get in, it is hard to get out.
J is for Jail, where the drunkard is kept
Till the fames of his liquor away he has slept.
K is for Knowledge, of which little remains
When he puts in his mouth what runs off with his brains.
L is for Liquor; whatever the name,
The taste, or the color, they all are the same.
M is for Monkey, who is wiser than men;
If you once get him drunk, you can't do it again.
N is for Noah, who planted the vine,
And — how sad is the warning! — got drunk on the wine.
O is the Orphan, of whom thousands are made,
Every mouth in the year, by the rum-seller's trade.
P is for Pledge, all good children should take.
If you can't sign your name, your mark you should make.
Q is for Quarrel; look sharp, and you'll find
In nearly all quarrels there's liquor behind.
R is for Rum, and for Rum-seller too;
With one or the other have nothing to do.
S is for Snow, where the poor drunkard lies,
Overcome by the liquor, and freezes and dies.
T is for Tippler, who grows worse and worse,
Till he finds, to his sorrow, not a coin in his purse.
U is for Union; in union there's strength;
With the young and the old we shall conquer at length.
V is for Victim, who staggered around
Till he fell in the river, where, of course, he was drowned.
W is for Woe, which everyone feels
Who partakes of strong liquor, and through the street reels.
X is for Xerxes; a great army had he;
But Alcohol's army is larger, you see.
Y is for Youth; daring youth, oh, beware,
Lest the love of strong drink should thee also ensnare!
Z is for Zealous, which I hope we will be
From strong drink's dominion our country to free.