Billy Johnson’s Ball

Billy Johnson had been married
Just a twelvemonth and a day,
When he sent his friends some letters,
In which he went to say,
As how about just two months since,
A baby had been sent,
So he'd give a ball to celebrate
The glorious event.

Lar dar de dar and doodle doodle diddle,
They played upon the fiddle and went up and down the middle.
Such jolly boys and pretty girls enough to please you all,
A reg'lar brilliant sort of spree, was Billy Johnson's ball.

There were the Jones-es-es and the Brownes'es
And the Smith-es-es a score,
The Spriggins-es, the Scoggins-es,
And half a dozen more;
In Billy's room there wasn't room,
To dance a decent jig,
So he went and took a big one
At 'The Tinder Box and Pig'

[SPOKEN] An efficient band was provided, consisting of a fiddle, a tin whistle and a jew's harp and they played...

They introduced the baby,
And we kissed it twice all round,
Mrs. Johnson was quite 'overcome',
Fell fainting to the ground.
But they 'brought her to' with water,
And 'a drop of something in',
And when she 'felt herself' again,
The dancing did begin.

In and out and round about,
Such a Ball was never seen,
And every now and then,
We'd 'a drop to drink between',
Billy Johnson he got dancing,
With all the girls he'd find,
Mrs. Johnson she grew jealous,
And declared he 'unkind'.

[SPOKEN: I make it a rule never to interfere in family quarrels, so I chose a lovely creature in red and yellow and we glided into the...]

I drank 'love' to the Joneses,
I drank 'love' to the browns,
I tried to keep on dancing but
'Twas somehow 'ups and downs',
To tell you how it ended,
I really am not able,
For I found myself next morning
Lying underneath the table.

[SPOKEN: I felt rather confused till a friend reminded me that I had been doing the...]