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Home  »  A Library of American Literature  »  Sleighing Song

Stedman and Hutchinson, comps. A Library of American Literature:
An Anthology in Eleven Volumes. 1891.
Vols. IX–XI: Literature of the Republic, Part IV., 1861–1889

Sleighing Song

By Anonymous

[From “The Better Sort, or the Girl of Spirit. A Farce.” 1789.]

WHAT pleasure can compare

To a sleighing with the fair

In the evening, the evening, in cold and frosty weather?

When rapidly we go

As we jingle o’er the snow

And tantarra, huzza! And tantarra, huzza!

And tantarra! sings every brave fellow!

When to Watertown we get

And the turkey’s on the spit,

And we dance, boys, and dance, boys, and drive away all sorrow,

’Tis then your milk and tea

Give place to strong sangree

And we banish, huzza! We banish, huzza!

And we banish the cares of to-morrow!

When the turkey’s roasted brown,

To the supper we sit down,

And “Keep it up!” and “Keep it up!” sings every jovial fellow;

With the wine-glass in his hand

He never makes a stand,

But guzzles, huzza, but guzzles, huzza,

And guzzles it away till he’s mellow.

Now for Boston we prepare

And the night is cold and clear,

And we’re stowing close, we’re stowing close, because it’s chilly weather.

O then what fun we feel

When the sleigh it takes a heel

And we’re huddled, huzza! And we’re huddled, huzza!

And we’re huddled, brave boys, altogether!

’Tis then the ladies cry,

O lud!—O dear!—O my!

And we scrabble, boys, we scrabble, boys, all from the snowy weather.

Then in the sleigh again

Do we scamper o’er the plain

And tantarra, huzza! tantarra, huzza!

And tantarra! sings every brave fellow!