I'll tell you a doleful tragedy
Guy Fawkes, the prince of sinisters
Who once blew up the House of Lords
The King and all his ministers
That is, he would have blown them up,
And we would ne'er forget him,
his will was good to do the deed
If they had only let him

Singing bow-wow-wow,
Whack fol-de-riddle,
Singing bow-wow-wow

Straightway he came from Lambeth side
And wished the State was undone;
And crossing over Vauxhall bridge
That way he came to London;
That is, he would have crossed the bridge
To perpetrate his guilt, sir,
But a trifling thing prevented him,
The bridge it was not built, Sir

And as he searched the dreary vaults
With portable gas light, sir,
About to touch the powder train
At the witching hour of night, sir;
That is, he would have used the gas,
Had he not been prevented;
But gas you know, in James's time,
It hadn't been invented

Now, when they caught him in the act,
So very near the Crown's end,
They sent straightway to Bow Street for
That gay old runner Townsend;
That is, they would have sent for him
For danger, he's no starter at
But Townsend wasn't living then,
He wasn't born till arter that

So then they put poor Guy to death
For ages to remember,
And now they kill him every year
In dreary, dark November;
That is, his effigy, I mean
For truth is strange and steady,
They cannot put poor Guy to death
For he is dead already

@revolution @outlaw
from Louise Pound, "American Ballads and Songs"
filename[ GUYFAWKE
SF
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