CHRISTMAS

Christmas has come, let's eat and drink —

This is no time to sit and think;

Farewell to study, books and pen,

And welcome to all kinds of men.

Let all men now get rid of care,

And what one has let others share;

Then‘ tis the same, no matter which

Of us is poor, or which is rich.

Let each man have enough this day,

Since those that can are glad to pay;

There's nothing now too rich or good

For poor men, not the King's own food.

Now like a singing bird my feet

Touch earth, and I must drink and eat.

Welcome to all men: I'll not care

What any of my fellows wear;

We'll not let cloth divide our souls,

They'll swim stark naked in the bowls.

Welcome, poor beggar: I'll not see

That hand of yours dislodge a flea,—

While you sit at my side and beg,

Or right foot scratching your left leg.

Farewell restraint: we will not now

Measure the ale our brains allow,

But drink as much as we can hold.

We'll count no change when we spend gold;

This is no time to save, but spend,

To give for nothing, not to lend.

Let foes make friends: let them forget

The mischief-making dead that fret

The living with complaint like this —

“He wronged us once, hate him and his.”

Christmas has come; let every man

Eat, drink, be merry all he can.

Ale's my best mark, but if port wine

Or whisky's yours — let it be mine;

No matter what lies in the bowls,

We'll make it rich with our own souls.

Farewell to study, books and pen,

And welcome to all kinds of men.