Growltiger's Last Stand
Growltiger was a bravo cat who traveled on a barge
In fact he was the roughest cat that ever roamed at large
From Gravesend up to Oxford he pursued his evil aims
Rejoicing in his title of 'The Terror of the Thames'
His manor and appearance did not calculate to please
His coat was torn and seedy, it was baggy at the knees
One ear was somewhat missing, no need to tell you why
And he scowled upon a hostile world with one forbidding eye
The cottagers of Rotherhithe knew something of his fame
At Hammersmith and Putney people shuddered at his name
They would fortify the hen house, lock up the silly goose
When the rumor ran along the shore: Growltiger's on the loose!
Woe to the weak canary that fluttered from its cage
Woe to the pampered Pekinese, that faced Growltiger's rage
Woe to the bristly bandicoot, that lurks on foreign ships
And woe to any cat with whom Growltiger came to grips
But most to cats of foreign race his hatred had been vowed
To cats of foreign name and race no quarter was allowed
The Persian and the Siamese regarded him with fear
Because it was a Siamese that mauled his missing ear
Now on a peaceful summer night all nature seemed at play
The tender moon was shining bright, the barge at Molsey lay
All in the balmy moonlight it lay rocking on the tide
And Growltiger was disposed to show his sentimental side
In the forepeak of the vessel Growltiger stood alone
Concentrating my attention on the lady Griddlebone
And my raffish crew were sleeping in their barrels and their bunks
As the Siamese came creeping in their sampans and their junks
Growltiger had no eye or ear for aught but Griddlebone
And the lady seemed enraptured by my manly baritone
Disposed to relaxation and awaiting no surprise
But the moonlight shone reflected from a thousand bright blue eyes
And closer still and closer the sampans circled 'round
And yet from all the enemy there was not heard a sound
The foe was armed with toasting forks and cruel carving knives
And the lovers sang their last duet in danger of their lives
In una tepida notte D'Estate, allorche la natura
Era nel pieno fulgore, E la resca rugadia
Splendeva al chiar di luna sopra la vezura
Si poteva verdere il galone ancorato
Oscillare in silenzio nel vento profumato
Dalla marea del navigilo serenamente cullato
In quella tepida notte che C'E dunque di male
Se in tnata poesia anche il pirata diventeo sentimentale?
Oscillare in silenzio nel vento profumato
Dalla marea do navigilo serenamente cullato
In quella tepida notte
In quella tepida notte
In quella tepida notte
Then Genghis gave his signal to his fierce Mongolian hordes
Abandoning their sampans, the chinks they swarmed aboard
Abandoning their sampans, their pullaways, their junks
They battened down the hatches on the crew within their bunks
Then Griddlebone she gave a screech for she was badly skeered
I am sorry to admit it, but she quickly disappeared
She probably escaped with ease, I'm sure she was not drowned
But a serried ring of flashing steel Growltiger did surround
The ruthless foe pressed forward in stubborn rank on rank
Growltiger to his vast surprise was forced to walk the plank
He who a hundred victims he had driven to that drop
At the end of all his crimes was forced to go kerflip, kerflop
Oh there was joy in wapping when the news flew through the land
At Maidenhead and Henley there was dancing on the strand
Rats were roasted whole in Brentford and Victoria Dock
And a day of celebration was commanded in Bangkok!
These modern productions are all very well
But there's nothing to equal from what I hear tell
That moment of mystery, when I made history
