MacLean, Gerald, editor. The Return of the King : An Anthology of English Poems Commemorating the Restoration
of Charles II / edited by Gerald MacLean
Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library
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England's Day of Joy and Reioicing
8 May
See "The Cavaliers Comfort" (also printed for Gilbertson) for this refrain. A selfdated description of the events of 8 May: "CHeer up your hearts kind Country-men"
Englands day of Joy and Reioycing, Or, Long lookt for is come at last. / Or the true manner of proclaiming CHARLS the Second King of Eng- / land, &c. Ths Eighth day of this present May; to the ever honored praise / of Generall Monck, being for the good of his Country and the Parliament.
To the Tune of, Jockey. [cuts]
CHear up your hearts kind Country-men,
once again, for we have them,
Now done the deed
Be no longer now so sad
but be all glad, though you have had
Both sorrow and need
For [seeing fat] Foxes once were chief,
And often with you plaid the Thief
And now the Huntsman he is come,
And hath put them all to the run,
Though they so long a time have sat,
About this and that, and I know not what,
Now General Monck hath done the thing,
And proclaimd Charls our royal King.
Then let us for his welfare pray,
both night and day, as on the way,
We passe along,
That his Enemies may be trapand,
that holds up hand, or gives command
To do him wrong,
For there is two many now adays,
That if they might but have their ways,
Both King and Kingdome would destroy,
So they themselves might it inioy,
But let all those now have a care,
Let they fall into the hang-mans snare,
For it is General Monck that has done the thing
And proclaimed, &c.
Now I will in brief declare,
therefore be ware, and you shall hear,
Before you go,
Though he so longtime hath been crost,
and often tost, like to a post,
Both too and frow,
Yet now to England he must come,
For to redeem all those from doom,
That hath been kept under command,
And give them freedom in the land,
And be sure he will know all those,
Who are his friends, and who were his foes,
Then let his friends all merrily sing,
that Charles is proclaim'd, &c.
Though the Foxes father did destroy,
with much anoy, that he might not inioy,
His own,
Now let king Charls now have his right,
both day and night, in the despite
Of any one,
For it would have angered any one
For to have been kept from their own,
So long as young Charles he hath been,
This seaven long years durst not be seen,
So was the Duke of York likewise,
But now the country people cries,
It is General Monck has done the thing,
and proclaimed Charls, &c.
The second part, To the same Tune
[cuts of crowns over each column]
ANd now Fred Parliament doth sit,
with honour great, all men compleat,
To settle peace now in the land,
I pray to God they may prevail,
with fervent zeal; and not to fail,
What they have in hand,
And for to settle right the lawe,
And to maintain the good old cause,
As heretofore time hath been,
In Elizabeths days our maiden Queen,
For we no good laws have had,
This twenty years to make us glad,
But now General Monck has done the thing
And proclaimed Charls our royal King.
Now all the Ranters and the Quakers,
and the Shakers, and their Partakers,
must go down,
So must the Anabaptist too,
unto their wo, no more must go
Aspeaking up and down,
Though they did into houses surch,
Yet now they must repair to the Church,
No more private meetings they must have,
Nor yet no speaker them to save,
For they too long their wicked courses have run
And many poor people have left undon,
But now General Monck will have no such thing
For he has proclaimd, &c.
The Quakers had the land over-run,
and it undone, if Monck had not come
their fury to swage,
For when that Lambert he went forth,
unto the North, then they were in wrath,
and in great rage.
The Ministers they would destroy,
If that they would not them obey,
And the Protestants they would have foold,
But Monck their courage hath quickly cool'd,
They raised Armies in the West,
For to destroy both man and beast,
But Monck and alteration did bring,
And hath proclaimed, &c.
Then let us all pray to God,
and one accord, that his true word
may with us remain,
And it is a thing to be considered on,
and thought upon, what Monck hath done,
without destroying honest men:
To carry all thing, so uprightly as he hath done,
For the good of the Country since first he begun,
Without any shedding or spilling of blood,
Though he had many enemies that him withstood,
Yet God was on his side, you may very well know
That helpt him to beat down the Protestants foes
It is General Monck that has done this thing,
And has proclaimed, &c.
And now you Countrymen all,
both great and small, unto you all
I send this song,
Hoping your taxes shall be freed,
which you have much need, and indeed
Have paid it for so long,
For if Lambert and Fleetwood, in their ways had gone,
The poore protestants had been quite undone,
Lambert was for the Baptist as I did hear,
&Fleetwood for the Quakers as it doth appear
So they two would have agreed with high renown,
That ye poor Protestants should all have gone down,
But Monck an alteration did with him bring,
and has proclaimd, &c.
And now I wish that all those,
who are at his foes, or about goes,
him to destroy,
That they may be striken blind or lame,
unto their shame, which speaks his fame,
for to annoy.
For if General Monck had not stood our friend,
For of sorrow and woes, we should never had an end
But, deceit and delusions more and more,
True loving friends they turnd out of door,
And now you kind Countrymen be not in hast.
For though you have long lookt for it, it is come at last,
For General Monck has done the thing,
and so God save Charls our royal King.
The true manner of proclaiming Charles the second King of England, &c. by the too Houses of Parliament, Lords and Commons from Westminster, through all the streets of London, and accompanied by the Lord Mayor, and Aldermen, and Common-Councel of the City of London, with all the City Trained-bands for their Gard, and many thousands of Citizens on Horse-back.
London, Printed for W. Gilbertson, at the sign of the Bible in Giltspur-street.