The Gondoliers by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

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No. 19: SONG (Duchess)

"On the day that I was wedded"

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Click on picture to enlarge — The Duchess (Dorothy Gill) with Casilda (Rowena Ronald), 1932

Duchess.

On the day when I was wedded
To your admirable sire,
I acknowledge that I dreaded
An explosion of his ire.
I was overcome with panic —
For his temper was volcanic,
And I didn't dare revolt,
For I feared a thunderbolt!
I was always very wary,
For his fury was ecstatic —
His refined vocabulary
Most unpleasantly emphatic.
To the thunder
Of this Tartar
I knocked under
Like a martyr;
When intently
He was fuming,
I was gently
Unassuming —
When reviling
Me completely,
I was smiling
Very sweetly,
I was smiling
Very sweetly, very sweetly:
Giving him the very best, and getting back the very worst —
That is how I tried to tame your great progenitor — at first!
Giving him the very best, and getting back the very worst —
That is how I tried to tame your great progenitor — at first!

But I found that a reliance
On my threatening appearance,
And a resolute defiance
Of marital interference,
And a gentle intimation
Of my firm determination
To see what I could do
To be wife and husband too
Was the only thing required
For to make his temper supple,
And you couldn't have desired
A more reciprocating couple.
Ever willing
To be wooing,
We were billing —
We were cooing;
When I merely
From him parted,
We were nearly
Broken-hearted —
When in sequel
Reunited,
We were equal-
Ly delighted,
We were equal-
Ly delighted, delighted.
So with double-shotted guns and colours nailed unto the mast,
I tamed your insignificant progenitor — at last!
So with double-shotted guns and colours nailed unto the mast,
I tamed your insignificant progenitor — at last!

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