In the late 1730s the decandent ladies
Fled to the west leaving the rest
In the flame scarred frown of East London town
Where the hookers and bookers reside.
From the embers rose the rookeries
Housing vice and debauchery
And the name of this fever
Was Madame Jeneva
Oh drunk for a penny, dead drunk for two
Clean straw for nothing come celebrate your suffering
Madame Jeneva, she will deceive ya
Slappy Bonita, she will defeat ya
Her juniper berries set many a ladies'
Hearts a flutter, but their souls in the gutter
Back streets of St Giles played host to the smiles
Of the hags with their gin soaked rags.
Ms Eastwick and Miss Dafur
Ransom offspring for liquor
Escape the horrors of Gin Lane
For the labrynth of Mother's Ruin.
William Hogarth sketched the aftermath
Ink to paper some years later
Marking the pity and stench of the city
That the well-to-do left in their wake.