I am more or less (leaning towards more) entirely stealing two of Gilbert's lyrical patterns here. I have had the good fortune of seeing Geoff perform this one live and his is, to me, the definitive reading of it. The other was a Huge Hit in its day, but surprisingly hard to find YouTube renditions of now. Here is one that goes a bit slower than the normal, but that is really, really beautiful.

Oh, Cromwell and Ireland...

True, he never Blew Up Ireland, but he did, during the sieges of Drogheda and Wexford, allow his soldiers free reign on the Rape and Pillage front. This was pretty standard fare for 17th century warfare - when a town refused to surrender upon the approach of a besieging army, it was generally expected that No Quarter would be given should the siege prove successful. In Scotland, Cromwell won quite a few friends by his surprise move of NOT letting the soldiers do what they would to the conquered territories.

So, why didn't he extend the same basic humanity to Ireland? Most likely it was due to his memories of the "Irish Massacre" during the Long Parliament. Basically, the Irish got tired of having their religion overthrown and their land pulled out from under them and attempted a minor rising that was instantly reported by the English Press as a wholesale slaughter of Every Englishman Ever. It was a gross exaggeration which caused the English to grossly over-react in putting down the revolt. So, somewhere in the back of Cromwell's mind was the idea that the Irish were the Dudes Who Slaughtered Every Englishman Ever a decade or so ago... And so, it was just THAT much easier to look the other way those Couple of Times...

Does that make Cromwell an All Right Guy? IIIIIIma gonna guess.... no.....

- Count Dolby von Luckner

Ohhhhh... Definitive.

"My Name is John Wellington Wells" is my favorite song from the G&S canon. It is an excellent patter song, as well as being completely solo for added difficulty in singing. ("I am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" is a cakewalk in comparison, because of all the rests the Major-General gets while the chorus sings.)

Although, "When I Was a Lad" from H.M.S. Pinafore is also one of my favorites, just because of how nicely cynical it is.

--Geoff