Hark, hark, the drums do beat,
my love, and I must haste away.
The bugle's sweetly sound,
and no longer can I stay.
We are called up to Portsmouth,
and it's many a weary mile,
All for to be embarked for the
banks o 'er the Nile.
Oh, Willie, dearest Willie,
don't leave me here to mourn.
Don't leave me here to curse the
day that ever I was born.
For partin' with me, Willie,
is like partin' with me life
Oh, stay at home, dear Willie,
and make me a lawful wife
I'll put on me velveteens
and go along with you
I'll volunteer me services
and go to Egypt too
I'll fight beneath your banner,
love, and fortune it may smile
And I'll be your loyal comrade
on the banks of the Nile
Oh, Nancy, dearest Nancy,
Oh, that would never do.
The government has ordered
No women there to go.
The government has ordered,
the king he doth command,
And I am bound on oath, my love,
to serve on a foreign land.
Your waist is rather slender,
your com plexion is too fine,
Your constitution is too weak
to stand a hot campaign.
The sultry sons of Egypt,
your precious health would spoil
And the sandy desert places
on the banks o 'er the Nile
O cursed, cursed be the day
that e 'er the wars began
For they've ta 'en out of Scotland
many a bonny man
They've ta 'en free as
our lifeguards,
protectors o 'er Isle
And their bodies feed the worms
on the banks o 'er the Nile