The Snake in the Grass

From Martha "I'll Name the Boy Dennis
or No Name At All" Burns

Come listen awhile unto me, my lad,
Come listen to me for a spell.
Let that horrible drum for a moment be dumb,
For your uncle is going to tell what befell
A lad that loved liquor too well.

A clever young fellow was he, my lad, 
With beauty and brightness possessed,
E'er with brandy and wine he began to decline,
And behaved like some person possessed, I protest,
That the temperance plan is the best.

One evening he went to a tavern, my lad,
He went to a tavern one night,
And drinking too much rum brandy and such,
The lad got exceedingly tight and was quite,
What your aunt would consider a fright.

This fellow fell into a swoon, my lad,
A horrible slumber he takes.
He trembles with fear and acts very queer,
And see how he shivers and shakes when he wakes,
And raves about horrid great snakes.

It's a warning to you and to me my lad, 
A particular caution to all.
Though no one but he the vipers can see,
Just hear the poor lunatic bawl how they crawl
All over the floor and the wall.

Next morning he took to his bed, he did ,
Next morning he took to his bed,
And he never got up to dine or to sup,
Though properly physicked and bled, and I read
Next day the poor fellow was dead.

You've heard of the snake in the grass, my lad,
The terrible snake in the grass,
But a deadlier foe, a worse, you may know,
Is a snake of a different class, alas ,
It's the viper that lurks in the glass.