Iolanthe by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

You are here: Archive Home > Iolanthe > Web Opera > Act II

No. 16: SONG (Lord Mountararat & Chorus)
"When Britain really ruled the waves"

MIDI File [16KB, 2' 23"]

Karaoke File [20KB, 2' 23"]

Lord Mountararat.

When Britain really ruled the waves –
(In good Queen Bess’s time)
The House of Peers made no pretence
To intellectual eminence,
Or scholarship sublime;
Yet Britain won her proudest bays
In good Queen Bess’s glorious days!
Yet Britain won her proudest bays
In good Queen Bess’s glorious days!

Chorus.

Yes Britain won her proudest bays
In good Queen Bess’s glorious days!

Lord Mountararat.

When Wellington thrashed Bonaparte,
As every child can tell,
The House of Peers, throughout the war,
Did nothing in particular,
And did it very well:
Yet Britain set the world ablaze
In good King George’s glorious days!
Yet Britain set the world ablaze
In good King George’s glorious days!

Chorus.

Yet Britain set the world ablaze
In good King George’s glorious days!

Click on picture to enlarge — Rutland Barrington as Lord Mountararat in the original production, 1882

Lord Mountararat.

And while the House of Peers withholds
Its legislative hand,
And noble statesmen do not itch
To interfere with matters which
They do not understand,
As bright will shine Great Britain’s rays
As in King George’s glorious days!
As bright will shine Great Britain’s rays
As in King George’s glorious days!

Chorus.

As bright will shine Great Britain’s rays
As in King George’s glorious days!

This MIDI song file was originally sequenced by Matthew Armistead.

Archive Home | Iolanthe

Page Created 1 September, 2005