《The Stately Homes of England》歌词

[00:00:00] The Stately Homes of England - Noel Coward and Orchestra

[00:00:05] Lord Elderly Lord Borrowmere

[00:00:06] Lord Sickert and Lord Camp

[00:00:09] With every virtue every grace

[00:00:11] Ah what avails the sceptred race

[00:00:15] Here you see the four of us

[00:00:18] And there are so many more of us

[00:00:20] Eldest sons

[00:00:21] That must succeed

[00:00:23] We know how Caesar conquered Gaul

[00:00:26] And how to whack a cricket ball

[00:00:27] Apart from this our education

[00:00:30] Lacks co-ordination

[00:00:32] Though we're young

[00:00:33] And tentative

[00:00:34] And rather rip-representative

[00:00:36] Scions of a noble breed

[00:00:39] We are the products of those homes

[00:00:42] Serene and stately

[00:00:43] That only lately

[00:00:46] Seem to have run to seed

[00:00:48] The stately homes of England

[00:00:50] How beautiful they stand

[00:00:52] To prove the upper classes

[00:00:54] Have still the upper hand

[00:00:56] Though the fact

[00:00:56] That they have to be rebuilt

[00:00:58] And frequently mortgaged to the hilt

[00:01:00] Is inclined to take the gilt

[00:01:03] Off the gingerbread

[00:01:04] And certainly damps the fun

[00:01:06] Of the eldest son

[00:01:08] But still we won't be beaten

[00:01:10] We'll scrimp and scrape and save

[00:01:12] The playing fields of Eton

[00:01:14] Have made us frightfully brave

[00:01:16] And though if the Van Dycks have to go

[00:01:18] And we pawn the Bechstein Grand

[00:01:19] We'll stand

[00:01:20] By the stately homes of England

[00:01:28] Here you see the pick of us

[00:01:30] You may be heartily sick of us

[00:01:32] Still with sense we're all imbued

[00:01:35] Our homes command extensive views

[00:01:37] And with assistance from the Jews

[00:01:39] We have been able to dispose of

[00:01:42] Rows and rows and rows of

[00:01:44] Gainsboroughs and Lawrences

[00:01:46] Some sporting prints of Aunt Florence's

[00:01:49] Some of which were rather rude

[00:01:51] Although we sometimes

[00:01:53] Flaunt our family conventions

[00:01:55] Our good intentions

[00:01:58] Mustn't be misconstrued

[00:02:00] The stately homes of England

[00:02:02] We proudly represent

[00:02:04] We only keep them up

[00:02:06] For Americans to rent

[00:02:08] Though the pipes

[00:02:08] That supply the bathroom burst

[00:02:10] And the lavatory

[00:02:11] Makes you fear the worst

[00:02:12] It was used by Charles I

[00:02:15] (Quite informally)

[00:02:16] And later by George IV

[00:02:18] On a journey north

[00:02:20] The state departments keep their

[00:02:22] Historical renown

[00:02:24] It's wiser not to sleep there

[00:02:26] In case they tumble down

[00:02:28] But still if they ever catch on fire

[00:02:30] Which with any luck they might

[00:02:31] We'll fight

[00:02:32] For the stately homes of England

[00:02:36] The stately homes of England

[00:02:38] Though rather in the lurch

[00:02:40] Provide a lot of chances

[00:02:42] For psychical research

[00:02:43] There's the ghost

[00:02:44] Of a crazy younger son

[00:02:46] Who murdered in 1351

[00:02:48] An extremely rowdy nun

[00:02:51] Who resented it

[00:02:52] And people who come to call

[00:02:54] Meet her in the hall

[00:02:55] The baby in the guest wing

[00:02:58] Who crouches by the grate

[00:03:00] Was walled up in the west wing

[00:03:02] In 1428

[00:03:04] If anyone spots

[00:03:05] The Queen of Scots

[00:03:06] In a hand-embroidered shroud

[00:03:07] We're proud

[00:03:08] Of the stately homes of England