Kind friends your pity I pray bestow
On one who stands before you
And listen to my tale of woe
Though I promise not to bore you,
I longed to be a soldier's bride,
In my heart there burnt ambition's flame,
For I lov'd a gay young Colonel who
From Constantinople came,
Constantinople, Constantinople, Constantinople,
the Colonel came.
CHORUS:
[Oh, then it's] C, O, N, with a Con,
with S, T, A, N, with a stan,
with a Con-stan, T, I, ti with a Con-stan-ti,
N, O, no with a no,
with a Con-stan-ti-no, P, L, E, with a pull,
Con-stan-ti-no-ple.
I met the Colonel at a ball,
To him I was presented;
Upon his knees the youth did fall,
And lots of stuff invented.
He said he was a Turkish prince,
And begged that I would bear his name;
So I accepted the young Colonel who
From Constantinople came.
One evening, while we sat at tea,
We'd a visit most informal;
The police came, and, gracious me,
They took away the Colonel.
I soon found he a swindler was
And long had carried on that game;
And so I lost my Colonel, who
From Constantinople came.