Another good one is an anonymous seventeenth century round, dating from the period of the Great Plague, which defies death by jollity:
Hey nonny, no!
Men are fools that wish to die!
Is’t not fine to dance and sing
When the bells of death do ring?
Is’t not fine to swim in wine,
And turn upon the toe
And sing hey nonny, no!
When the winds blow and the seas flow?
Hey nonny, no!
Men are fools that wish to die!
Is’t not fine to dance and sing
When the bells of death do ring?
Is’t not fine to swim in wine,
And turn upon the toe
And sing hey nonny, no!
When the winds blow and the seas flow?
Hey nonny, no!
