Verse 1
Come all you bold heroes,
Give ear to my song,
I’ll sing in the praise
Of good brandy and rum.
There’s a clear crystal fountain
Near England shall flow;
Give me the punch ladle,
I’ll fathom the bowl.
Chorus
I’ll fathom the bowl,
I’ll fathom the bowl,
Give me the punch ladle,
I’ll fathom the bowl.
Verse 2
From France we get brandy,
From Jamaica comes rum,
Sweet oranges and lemons,
From Portugal come:
Strong beer and good cyder,
O’er England shall flow;
Give me the punch ladle,
I’ll fathom the bowl.
Verse 3
My wife she comes in,
When I sit at my ease,
She scolds and she grumbles,
And does as she please;
She may scold and she may grumble,
'till she’s black in the face as a coal;
Give me the punch ladle,
I’ll fathom the bowl.
Verse 4
My father he lies in the depth of the sea,
With the stones at his feet;
What matters for he,
There’s a clear crystal fountain
Near him it doth roll;
Give me the punch ladle,
I’ll fathom the bowl.
This one's from the south of England, with little or no evidence of its traditional use spreading particularly far. However, it is a very popular song, recounting the incgredients of a good bowl of punch, and it is one of those during which the more dewy eyed Morris Dancer may find themselves turning to a comrade with a smile reflecting fraternal unity and melancholly tinged satisfaction.
The song, like many others in the book, is a broadside, which refers to the nature of the media upon which it was published, rather than the idea that it be sung with all guns blazing. A broadside, or broadsheet, is a single sheet of paper upon which is printed some content for reading, singing or admiring. Songs collected in this way are referred to by their medium to indicate that they were of a popular nature.
