This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
In seventeen forty-two, it was customary in the township of Halifax, for a gentleman to partake occasionally of ratafia which was--a light-flavored liquer of amazing potency--which originated in Middlesex and which we suppose is the reason for this song.
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
A captain bold in Halifax, who dwelt in country quarters, seduced a maid who hung herself one Monday in her garters.
His wicked conscience smitted him.
He lost his stomach daily.
He took to drinking ratafia and tho't upon Miss Bailey.
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
One night betimes he went to bed for he had caught the fever. Said he, "I am a handsome man and I'm a gay deceiver."
His candle just a twelve o'clock began to burn quite palely.
A ghost stepped up to his bedside and said, "Behold, Miss Bailey!"
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
"Avast, Miss Bailey," then he cried, "you can't affright me, really." "Dear Captain Smith," the ghost replied, "you used me ungenteelly.
The coroner's quest goes hard with me because I've acted freely and Parson Biggs won't bury me tho' I'm a dead Miss Bailey."
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
"Dear Ma'am," says he, "since you and I must once for all accounts close, I have a one pound note in my regimental small clothes.
'Twill bribe the sexton for your grave." The ghost then answered gaily, "Bless you, wicked Captain Smith, remember poor Miss Bailey!"
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
"All's well that ends well, I suppose."
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
A captain bold in Halifax, who dwelt in country quarters, seduced a maid who hung herself one Monday in her garters.
His wicked conscience smitted him.
He lost his stomach daily.
He took to drinking ratafia and tho't upon Miss Bailey.
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
One night betimes he went to bed for he had caught the fever. Said he, "I am a handsome man and I'm a gay deceiver."
His candle just a twelve o'clock began to burn quite palely.
A ghost stepped up to his bedside and said, "Behold, Miss Bailey!"
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
"Avast, Miss Bailey," then he cried, "you can't affright me, really." "Dear Captain Smith," the ghost replied, "you used me ungenteelly.
The coroner's quest goes hard with me because I've acted freely and Parson Biggs won't bury me tho' I'm a dead Miss Bailey."
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
"Dear Ma'am," says he, "since you and I must once for all accounts close, I have a one pound note in my regimental small clothes.
'Twill bribe the sexton for your grave." The ghost then answered gaily, "Bless you, wicked Captain Smith, remember poor Miss Bailey!"
Oh, Miss Bailey! Unfortunate, Miss Bailey!
"All's well that ends well, I suppose."
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
The Burial grounds in the late Middle Ages was around the church buildings and the most well off had their plots closest to the building. Those diseased that were not in the good graces of the church could not not be buried near the church as such burials would taint the sacredness of the burial grounds. The bribe for Miss Bailey’s grave was to 1. redeem her sullied reputation and 2. To put her back in the graces of the community and 3. Take her soul out of purgatory. The British assigned sentries to locations to keep an eye on the locales for latent revolutionary ideas, thus Captain Smith probably headed such a squad, he being the leader.. With nothing to do, Halifax was most loyal to the Crown, Capt Smith ran amuk dallying with the locals to fill his time. His guilt over deflowering Miss Bailey caused his drinking and most likely was the subsequent cause of the appearance of the ghostly apparition. Bribing the parson overcame the barrier to finding a location for her grave within the sanctified grounds of the church building, and the assuagement of his conscience.