Poem by William Schwenck Gilbert

Songs of a Savoyard. The Fairy Queen’s Song

Oh, foolish fay,
   Think you because
Man’s brave array
   My bosom thaws
I’d disobey
   Our fairy laws?
Because I fly
   In realms above,
In tendency
   To fall in love
Resemble I
   The amorous dove?

         Oh, amorous dove!
            Type of Ovidius Naso!
               This heart of mine
               Is soft as thine,
            Although I dare not say so!

On fire that glows
   With heat intense
I turn the hose
   Of Common Sense,
And out it goes
   At small expense!
We must maintain
   Our fairy law;
That is the main
   On which to draw—
In that we gain
   A Captain Shaw.

         Oh, Captain Shaw!
            Type of true love kept under!
               Could thy Brigade
               With cold cascade
            Quench my great love, I wonder!

1. The Bab Ballads. Disillusioned
2. The Bab Ballads. A Discontented Sugar Broker
3. The Bab Ballads. Ferdinando and Elvira; or, the Gentle Pieman
4. The Bab Ballads. The Troubadour
5. The Bab Ballads. Thomson Green and Harriet Hale

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