[ti:Stately Homes Of England]
[ar:Noel Coward----(replace by 84005)]
[al:English Gentleman]
[offset:0]

[00:00.00]Stately Homes Of England - Noel Coward and Orchestra
[00:05.03]Lord Elderly, Lord Borrowmere
[00:06.93]Lord Sickert and Lord Camp
[00:09.37]With every virtue, every grace
[00:11.81]Ah, what avails the sceptred race
[00:15.80]Here you see the four of us
[00:18.61]And there are so many more of us
[00:20.48]Eldest sons
[00:21.88]That must succeed
[00:23.72]We know how Caesar conquered Gaul
[00:26.01]And how to whack a cricket ball
[00:27.80]Apart from this, our education
[00:30.38]Lacks co-ordination
[00:32.39]Though we're young
[00:33.88]And tentative
[00:34.95]And rather rip-representative
[00:36.73]Scions of a noble breed
[00:39.92]We are the products of those homes
[00:42.10]Serene and stately
[00:43.92]That only lately
[00:46.48]Seem to have run to seed
[00:48.14]The stately homes of England
[00:50.46]How beautiful they stand
[00:52.37]To prove the upper classes
[00:54.36]Have still the upper hand
[00:55.99]Though the fact
[00:56.82]That they have to be rebuilt
[00:58.21]And frequently mortgaged to the hilt
[01:00.22]Is inclined to take the gilt
[01:03.05]Off the gingerbread
[01:04.44]And certainly damps the fun
[01:06.29]Of the eldest son
[01:08.16]But still, we won't be beaten
[01:10.20]We'll scrimp and scrape and save
[01:12.19]The playing fields of Eton
[01:14.08]Have made us frightfully brave
[01:16.04]And though if the Van Dycks have to go
[01:18.09]And we pawn the Bechstein Grand
[01:19.86]We'll stand
[01:20.80]By the stately homes of England
[01:28.46]Here you see the pick of us
[01:30.91]You may be heartily sick of us
[01:32.73]Still, with sense we're all imbued
[01:35.81]Our homes command extensive views
[01:37.75]And with assistance from the Jews
[01:39.88]We have been able to dispose of
[01:42.08]Rows and rows and rows of
[01:44.48]Gainsboroughs and Lawrences
[01:46.92]Some sporting prints of Aunt Florence's
[01:49.04]Some of which were rather rude
[01:51.93]Although we sometimes
[01:53.00]Flaunt our family conventions
[01:55.84]Our good intentions
[01:58.56]Mustn't be misconstrued
[02:00.31]The stately homes of England
[02:02.40]We proudly represent
[02:04.28]We only keep them up
[02:06.00]For Americans to rent
[02:08.01]Though the pipes
[02:08.84]That supply the bathroom burst
[02:10.29]And the lavatory
[02:11.01]Makes you fear the worst
[02:12.16]It was used by Charles I
[02:15.14](Quite informally)
[02:16.01]And later by George IV
[02:18.30]On a journey north
[02:20.26]The state departments keep their
[02:22.21]Historical renown
[02:24.29]It's wiser not to sleep there
[02:26.05]In case they tumble down
[02:28.15]But still, if they ever catch on fire
[02:30.10]Which, with any luck, they might
[02:31.72]We'll fight
[02:32.70]For the stately homes of England
[02:36.22]The stately homes of England
[02:38.18]Though rather in the lurch
[02:40.19]Provide a lot of chances
[02:42.21]For psychical research
[02:43.74]There's the ghost
[02:44.71]Of a crazy younger son
[02:46.30]Who murdered in 1351
[02:48.04]An extremely rowdy nun
[02:51.10]Who resented it
[02:52.20]And people who come to call
[02:54.15]Meet her in the hall
[02:55.96]The baby in the guest wing
[02:58.18]Who crouches by the grate
[03:00.05]Was walled up in the west wing
[03:02.11]In 1428
[03:04.11]If anyone spots
[03:05.09]The Queen of Scots
[03:06.09]In a hand-embroidered shroud
[03:07.92]We're proud
[03:08.80]Of the stately homes of England