I confess, in all lowliness, this is

Beyond my intelligence quite.

It may well be that I’m very silly,

But some of his songs seem to me

Like a mixture of very weak skilly

With ten times as much eau-de-vie.

His language is wrondrously charming,

And falls like a spell on the ear;

But there’s one thing that’s rather alarming—

Would it ever bring laughter or tear?