Trafalgar Day

Today is the two-hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, at which Napoleon's navy was thoroughly sorted out by Admiral Lord Nelson. And quite rightly too - Napoleon was planning to invade us, the old dog.
Some people say that the British concentrate too much on past military glories, but then again the people saying that tend to hail from nations without much in the way of past military glories to obsess over so I reckon they're just jealous. The only nations with comparable military histories would be Italy/Rome, Greece, and Mongolia, and in Italy the Casears are national heroes, in Greece kids learn about Alexander the Great in School, and in Mongolia Genhis Khan has been formally recognised as a demigod.
The sooner Queen Victoria gets that sort of recogition, the happier I'll be.

So, to mark the day, a traditional song and a poll.

Come cheer up, my lads! 'tis to glory we steer,
To add something more to this wonderful year;
To honour we call you, not press you like slaves,
For who are so free as the sons of the waves?

Chorus
Heart of oak are our ships, heart of oak are our men;
We always are ready, steady, boys, steady!
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

We ne'er see our foes but we wish them to stay,
They never see us but they wish us away;
If they run, why we follow, and run them ashore,
For if they won't fight us, we cannot do more.

Chorus

They swear they'll invade us, these terrible foes,
They frighten our women, our children, and beaus;
But should their flat bottoms in darkness get o'er,
Still Britons they'll find to receive them on shore.

Chorus

We'll still make them fear, and we'll still make them flee,
And drub 'em on shore, as we've drubb'd 'em at sea;
Then cheer up, my lads! with one heart let us sing:
Our soldiers, our sailors, our statesmen and Queen.

Chorus


[Poll #595141]