Song: Yes or No

The Baron de Vaux hath a valiant crest,--
My Lady is fair and free;
The Baron is full of mirth and jest,--
My Lady is full of glee;
But their path, we know, is a path of woe,
And many the reason guess,--
The Baron will ever mutter “No”
When my Lady whispers “Yes.”

The Baron will pass the wine-cup round,--
My Lady forth will roam;
The Baron will out with horse and hound,--
My Lady sits at home;
The Baron will go to draw the bow,--
My Lady will go to chess;
And the Baron will ever mutter “No”
When my Lady whispers “Yes.”

The Baron hath ears for a lovely lay,
If my Lady sings it not;
The Baron is blind to a beauteous day,
If it beam in my Lady’s grot;
The Baron bows low to a furbelow,
If it be not my Lady’s dress;
And the Baron will ever mutter “No”
When my Lady whispers “Yes.”

Now saddle my steed, and helm my head,
Be ready in the porch;
Stout Guy, with a ladder of silken thread,
And trusty Will, with a torch;
The wind may blow, the torrent flow,--
No matter,--on we press;
I never can hear the Baron’s “No”
When my Lady whispers “Yes.”