Explore "The Colonies" by Harry Graham on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
I've been 'earing, round the pubs, / As the British Lion's cubs / Is a gettin' out of 'and, and stubborn-'earted; / For the Colonies, they say, / Is a driftin' right away, / From the Motherland wot seed 'em safely started. / But it's only Little Englanders, Protectionists, an' such, / Keeps a-'owling an' a-crying as the Empire's 'out o' touch.'
There was Canada, I know; / Kipling said as she 'ad snow, / Which (o' course) was met with angry contradictions; / Then Haustralia come next, / An' one Guv'nor found a text / To remind 'em of their ancestors' convictions. / It's unfortunit, but still we must admit it for a fact, / As we Englishmen is hev'rvwhere notorious for tact.