A Song For a Centenary

Come, sing with a ring and a right good swing 
   (Hey!  Hey for a lilting lay!)
Any old silly, old jolly, old thing.
   (For a lilting lay Hey! Hey!)
So long as it be merry
Does the method matter very 
(Sing hey, down derry!)
   Does it matter what we sing?

Centenaries are far between,
And more than one few men have seen.
The sun is high, the fields are green 
Green, green!  Oh, joyous scene!
   (Hey for a lilting lay!)
A Royal Prince comes hence once more;
The loyal crowds with gladness roar;
The girls, agog, are bubbling oer;
The ships are in and Jacks ashore.
(Then hey, down derry for the merriment in store!)
   For a lilting lay sing hey!
                        Ho!
   Hail the happee day!

An ode be blowed!  We need no goad 
   (Hey!  Hey for a lilting lay!)
To urge us on our joyous road.
   (For a lilting lay Hey! Hey!)
So long as it be jolly
With a touch of fun and folly 
(Sing ho, hi, holly!)
   Whos to quarrel with the mode?

For Prince and poet, salts and seers
We hymn the tale of pioneers;
With eyes upon the future years,
Cheers, cheers are in our ears.
   (For a lilting lay sing hey!)
We sing the song of a task well done;
Yet sing of labors scarce begun,
Still thro the centuries to run.
We are the children of the sun!
(Then hey, down derry for a festival of fun!)
   Sing hey for a lilting lay!
                     Ho!
   Hail the happee day!