Ballad X (Come let us be merry)

Come let us be merry,
Drink Claret and Sherry,
And cast away care and sorrow;
He's a fool that takes thought for to morrow.
Why should we be droopers,
To save it for Troopers.
Let's spend our own,
And when all is gone,
That they can have none,
Then the Roundheads and Cavies agree.

Then fall to your drinking,
And leave of this shrinking;
Let Square-heads and Round-heads go quarrel,
We have no other foe but the barrel;
These cares and disasters,
Shall ne'r be our Masters:
English and Scot,
Doth both love a pot,
Though they say they do not,
Here the Roundheads and Cavies agree.

A man that is armed
With liquor is charmed,
And proof against strength and cunning;
He scorns the base humour of running.
Our rains are the quicker,
When season'd with liquor,
Let's drink and sing
Here's a health to our King,
And I wish in this thing
Both the Roundheads and Cavies agree.

A pox of this fighting!
I take no delighting,
In killing of men and plunder;
A Gun affrights me like a thunder.
If we can Live quiet,
With good drink and diet,
We wont come nigh,
Where the bullets do fly:
In fearing to die,
Both the Roundheads and Cavies agree.

Twixt Square-head and Round-head
The Land is confounded,
They care not for fight or battle,
But to plunder our goods and cattle.
When ere they come to us,
Their chiefest hate,
Is at our Estate,
And in sharing of that,
Both the Roundheads and Cavies agree.

In swearing and lying,
In cowardly flying,
In whering, in cheating, in stealing,
They agree; in all damnable dealing.
He's a fool and a widgeon,
That thinks they've Religion,
For Law and right,
Are o're rul'd by might;
But when they should fight,
Then the Roundheads and Cavies agree

Then while we have treasure,
Let's spare for no pleasure:
He's a fool that has wealth and won't spend it,
But keeps it for Troopers to end it.
When we've nothing to leave 'um:
Then we shall deceive 'um,
If all would be
Of such humours as we,
We should suddenly see
Both the Roundheads and Cavies agree.

Written in 1648.