Thompson ...
I don’t know why the people in humorous lyrics are always called
Thompson (or Brown), but they are.
Thompson, being indigent,
Thought that it was time he went
Into England’s Parliament,
To earn his daily bread....
That is a joke against Parliament, you see--Payment of Members and
all that; it is good. At the same time it is usual to reserve one’s
jokes for the chorus. The composer, you see, reserves his tune for the
chorus, and, if the author puts too much into the verse, there will be
trouble between their Unions.