All through that summer at ease we lay,

And daily from the turret wall

We watched the mowers in the hay

And the enemy half a mile away

They seemed no threat to us at all.

For what, we thought, had we to fear

With our arms and provender, load on load,

Our towering battlements, tier on tier,

And friendly allies drawing near

On every leafy summer road.

Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,

So smooth and high, no man could win

A foothold there, no clever trick

Could take us, have us dead or quick.

Only a bird could have got in.

What could they offer us for bait?

Our captain was brave and we were true …

There was a little private gate,

A little wicked wicket gate.

The wizened warder let them through.

Oh then our maze of tunneled stone

Grew thin and treacherous as air.

The cause was lost without a groan,

The famous citadel overthrown,

And all its secret galleries bare.

How can this shameful tale be told?

I will maintain until my death

We could do nothing, being sold;

Our only enemy was gold,

And we had no arms to fight it with.