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Madeira, M'Dear She was young, she was pure, she was new, she was nice She was fair, she was sweet seventeen He was old, he was vile, and no stranger to vice He was base, he was bad, he was mean He had slyly inveigled her up to his flat To view his collection of stamps And he said as he hastened to put out the cat The wine, his cigar and the lamps: Have some madeira, m'dear. You really have nothing to fear I'm not trying to tempt you, that wouldn't be right You shouldn't drink spirits at this time of night Have some madeira, m'dear. It's really much nicer than beer I don't care for sherry, one cannot drink stout And port is a wine I can well do without.. It's simply a case of chacun a son gout Have some madeira, m'dear Unaware of the wiles of the snake-in-the-grass And the fate of the maiden who topes She lowered her standards by raising her glass Her courage, her eyes and his hopes She sipped it, she drank it, she drained it, she did! He promptly refilled it again And he said as he secretly carved one more notch On the butt of his gold-headed cane: Have some madeira, m'dear I've got a small cask of it here And once it's been opened, you know it won't keep Do finish it up. It will help you to sleep Have some madeira, m'dear It's really an excellent year Now if it were gin, you'd be wrong to say yes The evil gin does would be hard to assess. Besides it's inclined to affect me prowess Have some madeira, m'dear Then there flashed through her mind what her mother had said With her antepenultimate breath "Oh my child, should you look on the wine that is red Be prepared for a fate worse than death!" She let go her glass with a shrill little cry Crash! Tinkle! it fell to the floor When he asked, "What in Heaven?" She made no reply Up her mind, and a dash for the door Have some madeira, m'dear Rang out down the hall loud and clear With a tremulous cry that was filled with despair As she fought to take breath in the cool midnight air Have some madeira, m'dear The words seemed to ring in her ear Until the next morning, she woke in her bed With a smile on her lips and an ache in her head.. And a beard in her lug 'ole that tickled and said: Have some madeira, m'dear! From The Limeliters - Tonight in Person |