"Lillibullero bullen a la" is repeated after every line in each verse. Those repetitions are omitted after the first verse here to save space. :
1686 Version :Ho, brother
Teague, dost hear the decree? :Lillibullero bullen a la :We are to have a new
deputy :Lillibullero bullen a la ::
Refrain: ::Lero Lero Lillibullero ::Lillibullero bullen a la ::Lero Lero Lero Lero ::Lillibullero bullen a la :Oh by my soul it is
a Talbot :And he will cut every Englishman's throat
(Refrain) :Though, by my soul, the English do prate :The law's on their side and the devil knows what
(Refrain) :But if
dispense do come from
the Pope :We'll hang
Magna Carta and themselves on a rope
(Refrain) :And the good Talbot is now made a Lord :And with his brave lads he's coming aboard
(Refrain) :Who all in France have taken a swear, :That they will have no Protestant heir
(Refrain) :Now Tyrconnell is come ashore :And we shall have
commissions galore
(Refrain) :And everyone that won't go to
Mass :He will be turned out to look like an ass :Now the
heretics all go down :By Christ and
Saint Patrick's the nation's our own
(Refrain) :There was an old prophecy found in a bog :The country'd be ruled by an ass and a dog
(Refrain) :Now this prophecy is all come to pass :For Talbot's the dog and Tyrconnell's the ass
(Refrain) :
1688 Version Alternatively, the lyrics could mean, "Lilly is clear [about this], the day will be ours". It is also thought that "Lilli" is a familiar form of William, and that bullero comes from the Irish "Buaill Léir ó", which gives: "William defeated all that remained". Professor
Breandán Ó Buachalla has claimed that they are a garbled version of the Irish sentence "Leir o, Leir o, leir o, leiro, Lilli bu leir o: bu linn an la, " which he translates as "Manifest, manifest, manifest, manifest, Lilly will be manifest, the day will be ours" referring to a possible prophecy of an Irish victory by the astrologer
William Lilly.
''The Beggar's Opera'' Purcell's music provided the tune for the highwayman Macheath's satire on modern society in
John Gay's ''
The Beggar's Opera'', which first premiered in 1728, using popular folk tunes for its score. Here, the lyrics are: The Modes of the Court so common are grown, That a true Friend can hardly be met; Friendship for Interest is but a Loan, Which they let out for what they can get. 'Tis true, you find Some Friends so kind, Who will give you good Counsel themselves to defend. In sorrowful Ditty, They promise, they pity, But shift for your Money, from Friend to Friend.
Protestant Boys One of the best-known
parodies of "Lillibullero" is the
Ulster Protestant folk lyric called "Protestant Boys". The song is played by flute bands accompanying the
Orange Order during
Orange or band-only parades, which have been the subject of controversy during
the Troubles in Northern Ireland. There are two versions of "Protestant Boys", both sung to the tune of "Lillibullero". They begin as follows: :
Version 1 :The Protestant Boys are loyal and true :Stout hearted in battle and stout-handed too :The Protestant Boys are true to the last :And faithful and peaceful when danger has passed :And Oh! they bear and proudly wear :The colours that floated o'er many a fray :Where cannon were flashing :And sabres were clashing :The Protestant Boys still carried the day. :
Version 2 :Tell me, my friends, why are we met here? :Why thus assembled, ye Protestant Boys? :Do mirth and good liquor, good humour, good cheer, :Call us to share of festivity's joys? :Oh, no! 'tis the cause, :Of king – freedom – and laws, :That calls loyal Protestants now to unite; :And Orange and Blue, :Ever faithful and true, :Our king shall support, and sedition a fright.
Nottingham Ale "
Nottingham Ale" is an English drinking song sung to the tune of "Lillibullero". The historian Blackner relates that a person of the name Gunthorpe, who within memory of persons then living [1815] kept the PunchBowl public house in Peck Lane Nottingham, sent a barrel of ale of his own brewing as a present to his brother, an officer in the navy, who in return composed this poetic epistle. It appears to have been a popular song around the end of the 18th century and was one which
Goldsmith enjoyed especially when sung by one of the comic singers who frequented one of his haunts in London. It was sung at the launching ceremony of the
Nottingham, an
East Indiaman, on 7 March 1787, at the Clevey's yard Gravesend. The ship was 1152 tons and had a crew of 144 and was one of the largest and fastest ever built. :Fair Venus, the goddess of beauty and love :Arose from the froth which swam on the sea :Minerva leapt out of the cranium of Jove :A coy, sullen slut, as most authors agree :Bold Bacchus, they tell us, the prince of good fellas :Was a natural son, pray attend to my tale :And they that thus chatter, mistake quite the matter :He sprung from a barrel of Nottingham Ale! ::Nottingham Ale, boys, Nottingham Ale ::No liquor on earth is like Nottingham Ale! ::Nottingham Ale, boys, Nottingham Ale ::No liquor on earth like Nottingham Ale! :And having survey'd well the cask whence he sprung :For want of more liquor, low spirited grew :He mounted astride to the jolly cask clung :And away to the gods and the goddess flew :But when he look'd down and saw the fair town :To pay it due honours, not likely to fail :He swore that on earth 'twas the town of his birth :And the best – and no liquor like Nottingham ale :Ye bishops and deacons, priests, curates and vicars :When once you have tasted, you'll own it is true :That Nottingham Ale, it's the best of all liquors :And who understands the good creature like you :It expels every vapour, saves pen, ink and paper :And when you're disposed from the pulpit to rail :T'will open your throats, you may preach without notes :When inspired with a bumper of Nottingham Ale :Ye doctors who more execution have done :With powder and bolus, with potion and pill :Than hangman with halter, or soldier with gun :Than miser with famine, a lawyer with quill :To dispatch us the quicker, you forbid us malt liquor :Till our bodies consume and our faces grow pale :But mind it what pleases and cures all diseases :Is a comfortable dose of good Nottingham Ale :Ye poets, who brag of the Helicon brook :The nectar of gods, and the juice of the vine :You say none can write well, except they invoke :The friendly assistance of one of the nine :Hers liquor surpasses the stream of Parnassus :The nectar Ambrosia, on which gods regale :Experience will show it, nought makes a good poet :Like
quantum sufficit of Nottingham ale
Overtures from Richmond Yet another set of lyrics set to the tune at the time of the
American Civil War is attributed to the ballad scholar
Francis J. Child, born in Boston in 1825. It is a satire on
Jefferson Davis and the
Confederacy, and perhaps refers to the
Hampton Roads Conference. :"Well, Uncle Sam," says Jefferson D., :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"You'll have to join my Confed'racy," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, that don't appear-o, :That don't appear," says old Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :That don't appear," says old Uncle Sam. :"So, Uncle Sam, just lay down your arms," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"Then you shall hear my reas'nable terms," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, I'd like to hear-o :I'd like to hear," says old Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :I'd like to hear," says old Uncle Sam. :"First you must own I've beat you in a fight," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"then that I always have been in the right," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, rather severe-o, :rather severe," says old Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :Rather severe," says old Uncle Sam. :"Then you must pay my national debts," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"No questions asked about my assets," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, that's very dear-o, :That's very dear," says old Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :That's very dear," says old Uncle Sam. :"Also some few IOUs and bets," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"Mine, and
Bob Toombs', and
Sidell's and
Rhett's," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, that leaves me zero, :That leaves me zero," says Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :That leaves me zero," says Uncle Sam. :"And by the way, one little thing more," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"You're to refund the costs of the war," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, just what I fear-o, :Just what I fear," says old Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :Just what I fear," says old Uncle Sam. :"Next you must own our Cavalier blood!" :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"And that your Puritans sprang from the mud!" :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, that mud is clear-o, :That mud is clear," says old Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :That mud is clear," says old Uncle Sam. :"Slavery's, of course, the chief
corner-stone," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"Of our new civilisation!" :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, that's quite sincere-o, :That's quite sincere," says old Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :That's quite sincere," says old Uncle Sam. :"You'll understand, my recreant tool," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"You're to submit, and we are to rule," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, aren't you a hero! :Aren't you a hero," says Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :Aren't you a hero," says Uncle Sam. :"If to these terms you fully consent," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, :"I'll be perpetual King-President," :Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam. :"Lero, lero, take your sombrero, :Off to your swamps," says old Uncle Sam, :"Lero, lero, filibustero, :Cut, double quick!" says old Uncle Sam.
The Farmer's Curst Wife In recent times, the melody and refrain of
Lillibullero are frequently paired with lyrics from the ballad ''
The Farmer's Curst Wife''. The lyrics tell the story of a ploughman's wife who is taken away to Hell by the Devil, but is subsequently returned to Earth due to her violent acts against demons. Lyrics from "The Farmer's Curst Wife" were used in the version of "Lillibullero" recorded by
Bellowhead in their 2012 album
Broadside, and in the version recorded by the band
The City Waites in their 1976 self-titled album.
There Was an Old Woman The 19th-century nursery rhyme "There Was an Old Woman Tossed Up in a Basket", published in the collection
Mother Goose has also been sung to this tune.
My Thing Is My Own The 18th-century ballad "My Thing Is My Own," a racy ballad about a young woman and the various seducers she's resisted, is sung to the tune of "Lilliburlero," for example on the "Renaissance Album" by
Ann Wilson and her sister
Nancy Wilson (rock musician). A version published in 1707 has twelve verses, including these: :I, a tender young Maid have been courted by many, :Of all sorts and Trades as ever was any: :A spruce Haberdasher first spake me fair, :But I would have nothing to do with Small ware. :My Thing is my own, and I'll keep it so still, :Yet other young Lasses may do what they will. :A sweet scented Courtier did give me a Kiss, :And promis'd me Mountains if I would be his, :But I'll not believe him, for it is too true, :Some Courtiers do promise much more than they do. :My Thing is my own, and I'll keep it so still, :Yet other young Lasses may do what they will. :A Master of Music came with an intent, :To give me a Lesson on my Instrument, :I thank'd him for nothing, but bid him be gone, :For my little Fiddle should not be played on. :My thing is my own, and I'll keep it so still, :Yet other young Lasses may do what they will. :A blunt Lieutenant surprised my Placket, :And fiercely began to rifle and sack it, :I mustered my Spirits up and became bold, :And forced my Lieutenant to quit his strong hold. :My thing is my own, and I'll keep it so still, :Yet other young Lasses may do what they will. :Now here I could reckon a hundred and more, :Besides all the Gamesters recited before, :That made their addresses in hopes of a snap :But as young as I was, I understood Trap. :My thing is my own, and I'll keep it so still, :Until I be Married, say Men what they will. ==In popular culture==