BLACK BROLLY.

Air--_Annie Laurie._

Under the Old Umbrella,
Beneath the leaking gamp,
Wrapped up in woolly phrases
We battle with the damp.
Come, gather round the gamp!
Observe, it is pre-war;
And beneath the old Black Brolly
There's room for several more.

Shameless calumniators
Calumniate like mad;
Detractors keep detracting;
It really is too bad;
It really is too bad.
To show we're not quite dead,
We wave the old Black Brolly
And hit them on the head.

Then we have the National Party. I am rather vague about the National
Party, but I know they are frightfully military, and they keep on
having Mass Rallies in Kensington--complete with drums, I expect.
Where all the masses come from I don't quite know, as a prolonged
search has failed to reveal anyone who knows anyone who is actually
a member of the party. Everybody tells me, though, that there is at
least one Brigadier-General (Tempy.) mixed up with it, if not two, and
at least one Lord, though possibly one of the Brigadiers is the same
as the Lord; but after all they represent the Nation, so they ought to
have a song. They have nothing but "Rule Britannia" now, I suppose.

Their song goes to the tune of "The British Grenadiers." I have
written it as a duet, but no doubt other parts could be added if the
occasion should ever arise.

THE NATIONAL.

Air--_The British Grenadiers._

Some talk of Coalitions,
Of Tories and all that;
They are but cheap editions
Of the one and only Nat.;
Our Party has no equals,
Though of course it has its peers,
With a tow, row, row, row, row, row,
For the British Brigadiers.

You have no idea how difficult it is to write down the right number of
_rows_ first time; however I daresay the General wouldn't mind a few
extra ones.

We represent the Nation
As no one else can do;
Without exaggeration
Our membership is two.
We rally in our masses
And give three hearty cheers,
With a tow, row, row, row, row, row
For the National Brigadiers.

There could be a great deal more of that, but perhaps you have had
enough.

Of course, if you don't think the poetry of my songs is good enough, I
shall just have to quote some of "The International" words to show you
that it's the _tune_ that matters.

Here you are:--

"Arise! ye starvelings from your slumbers,
Arise! ye criminals of want,
For reason in revolt now thunders