 | Original Songs (1861) |  |
38
O ENGLAND! DEAR ENGLAND!
I
Shoulder arms! Let us march while music leads the way,For he is but a coward who now indoors doth stay;
Let the aged nurse the fire, and the women mind the home,
While we go out to hunt the wolf that near the fold doth roam.
Chor. O England! dear England! we will die for thee,
That we may leave thee what thou art, the land of liberty.
O England! dear England! when thou'rt no longer free,
Our blood will redden the white sands of thy surrounding sea.
39
II
We are young, we are strong, and fear we never knew,Nor can you find a Briton but what his heart is true;
It makes our beardless boys rise up like men of might,
As they feel the cause they arm for is Justice, Truth, and Right.
Chor. O England! dear England! &c.
III
Should a tear dim our eyes, 'twill be when we call to mindThe forms of those belovèd ones that we must leave behind;
But they'll kindle at the thought of those who've gone before,
Who shed their blood to leave us free in battle's deepest roar.
Chor. O England! dear England! &c.
IV
They listen, they can hear a coward's coming tread,And they never will admit him among the gallant dead.
40
Than that which either ends in Death, or leads to Victory.
Chor. O England! dear England! we will die for thee,
That we may leave thee what thou art, the land of liberty.
O England! dear England! when thou'rt no longer free,
Our blood will redden the white sands of thy surrounding sea.
T. M.
| Original Songs (1861) | |