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The lyrics for this chest-thumping song were written by two Scots
這首震撼熱心的歌詞由兩位蘇格蘭人寫的
for a play about King Alfred the Great,
最初譜詞是用于一部戲劇
and they were sung lastly by merchants and businessmen who saw Britain's future lay with the blue water empire of trade.
《阿爾弗雷德大帝》 最終卻為商人和企業家所傳頌 他們預見到了英國將稱霸藍海的未來
But someone was in the way of this prosperous future
然而通往繁榮的康莊大道上 卻盤踞著一頭攔路虎
and that someone was Robert Walpole.
這只攔路虎就是羅伯特·沃波爾
Merchants felt Walpole was concerned and his cronies cared too much about land and not enough about business.
商人們認為沃波爾及其黨羽 太過關注領地 而忽視了商業
So they were not amused when Walpole raised the taxes on the kind of things that made money for them,beer and coal
商界一片嘩然 不滿于 沃波爾提高他們賺錢生意的稅率 比如提高啤酒 煤礦稅
while making damn sure to keep the land tax low.
而同時降低土地稅
Now, what would be the only thing that could raise those land taxes?Well, war, of course.
究竟怎樣才能夠 讓土地稅增加呢 當然就是戰爭
So no wonder Walpole, unforgivably,pussyfooted around the Spanish
所以當沃波爾竟然 在西班牙人試圖干涉我們商船艦隊時
when they presumed to interfere with our ships.
不可原諒地采取了觀望態度
When he signed a treaty with Spain that was seen as an unpatriotic sell-out,
當他與西班牙簽訂了 被視為賣國之舉的協議后
the merchants were even more incensed.
商人們更加勃然大怒
Walpole's effigy was burned in the streets by crowds roaring for his political head.
沃波爾的塑像在大街上被人群付之一炬 人們對他的政治頭腦破口大罵
Walpole's allies and time-servers in parliament were suddenly nowhere to be seen.
沃波爾的盟友和趨炎附勢的議會黨羽 瞬間不見蹤影
His political enemies closed in gleefully for the kill.
他的政敵步步緊逼 欲置他于死地
