Living
The Nut-Brown Ale
From Lyrics from the Dramatists of the Elizabethan Age, ed. A. H. Bullen (London: Nimmo, 1889)
The nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,
Puts down all drink when it is stale!
The toast, the nutmeg, and the ginger
Will make a sighing man a singer.
Ale gives a buffet in the head,
But ginger under-props the brain;
When ale would strike a strong man dead
Then nutmeg tempers it again.
The nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,
Puts down all drink when it is stale!
Codex Note
From the anonymous play Histriomastix (1610; Bullen gives no author).
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Elizabethan songs). “The Nut-Brown Ale.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-songs/1/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Elizabethan songs). “The Nut-Brown Ale.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-songs/1/.
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