SLEEP ON
FEAR no unlicensed entry,
Heed no bombastic talk,
While guards the British sentry
Pall Mall and Birdcage Walk.
Let European thunders
Occasion no alarms,
Though diplomatic blunders
May cause a cry, “To arms!”
Sleep on, ye pale civilians;
All thunder-clouds defy;
On Europe’s countless millions
The sentry keeps his eye!
Should foreign-born rapscallions
In London dare to show
Their overgrown battalions,
Be sure I’ll let you know.
Should Russians or Norwegians
Pollute our favoured clime
With rough barbaric legions,
I’ll mention it in time.
So sleep in peace, civilians,
The Continent defy;
While on its countless millions
The sentry keeps his eye!
W. S. Gilbert.