Remember, remember

English Folk Verse (c.1870)

        The Fifth of November  

Remember, remember!  
The fifth of November,  
The Gunpowder treason and plot;  
I know of no reason  
Why the Gunpowder treason  
Should ever be forgot!  
Guy Fawkes and his companions  
Did the scheme contrive,  
To blow the King and Parliament  
All up alive.  
Threescore barrels, laid below,  
To prove old England's overthrow.  
But, by God's providence, him they catch,  
With a dark lantern, lighting a match!  
A stick and a stake  
For King James's sake!  
If you won't give me one,  
I'll take two,  
The better for me,  
And the worse for you.  
A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,  
A penn'orth of cheese to choke him,  
A pint of beer to wash it down,  
And a jolly good fire to burn him.  
Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!  
Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!  
Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

Guy Fawkes Day is the Fifth of November, when the English (used to, wouldn’t be surprised if it’s banned now) let off lots of fireworks to remind the government of the peoples power, or vice versa depending on your proclivities.

More recently the comic (Alan Moore, knows the score) and the movie ‘V for Vendetta’ both featured the
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
as a significant thematic refrain. Both are well worth your time. The mask on the left is from the movie, and also used as a symbol by the cyberactivist group ‘Anonymous’