There was an old lady lived over the sea,
And she was an Island Queen;
Her daughter lived off in a new countrie, With an ocean of water between.
The old lady's pockets were full of gold.
But never contented was she,
So she called on her daughter to pay her a tax
Of three pence a pound on her tea,
Of three pence a pound on her tea.
"Now, Mother, dear Mother," the daughter replied,
"I shan't do the thing you ask;
I'm willing to pay a fair price for the tea,
But-never the three penny tax."
"You shall," quoth the mother, and redden'd with rage,
"For you're my daughter, you see,
And sure 'tis quite proper the daughter should pay
Her mother a tax on her tea.
The tea was conveyed to the daughter's door,
All down by the ocean's side;
And the bouncing girl pour'd out ev'ry pound,
In the dark and boiling tide.
And then she called out to the Island Queen,
"Oh, Mother, dear Mother," quoth she,
"Your tea you may have when 'tis steep'd enough,
But never a tax from me,
But never a tax from me."
Ruth and Norman Lloyd