 | The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay |  |
135
FAREWELL TO THEE, ENGLAND.
I
Farewell to thee, England! oh, land of our birth,The pride and the glory and queen of the earth!
We sail with sad hearts to a land far away,
In search of the bread that may fail if we stay.
New faces glow bright in the blaze of our fires,
The stranger sits down in the halls of our sires.
Farewell! oh, farewell to thy beautiful shore!
England! dear England! farewell evermore!
II
We've courage to lead us; there's strength in our hands;There's wealth to be won in the far-distant lands;
For us and our children are acres to spare,
And the name of our fathers forbids to despair.
There are homes in the world for the honest and free,
And kingdoms and empires to found o'er the sea.
We quit not in anger thy beautiful shore;
'Tis with tears that we bid thee farewell evermore!
III
Farewell! oh, farewell! In the land where we goOur heart's deep affection shall lighten our woe;
Thy manners, thy language, thy faith, and thy fame,
Shall follow our footsteps, and flourish the same;
Thy virtues shall live in the songs that we sing,
And the tales that we tell to thy glory shall cling.
Farewell! oh, farewell to thy time-hallow'd shore!
England! dear England! farewell evermore!
| The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | |