And so it is my lads I’m off to the glorious fight,
Away over distant lands and restless roaming Sea,
For my Country by Heaven with our Military-Might,
To uphold the prized order of all Man to live free.
So It’s a lasting fond look at the Realm of my blood ,
Was soil ever more cherished above irrelevant pure gold,
Where echoes of my youth roam the green hills and dark Wood,
Oh! for a dram by the Hearth when the cruel Winter takes hold.
For there She now looks where I gave leave at the door,
Now vacant save the Remembrance of a lasting embrace,
Was ever a Farewell taken by the Calling of War?
For I go to my fate by every tear on her face.
So to the Noise and the Fire March the Souls of the brave,
With the Flag unfurled in our feverish Hearts,
For King be he Diamond or Inferior Knave,
To his Glory and Name our duty impart .
And what say we all to my fellow brave man,
My foe who decides be it life , or be it death,
Was he in accord with this Ancient of plans,
The despairing sole choice of his Masters riled breath.
For no Mother should mourn the cruel loss of a dear Son,
Who once slept in her arms when such Illness did form,
A wife’s troubled Heart until the Peace-Work is done,
And fear the dark day when there’s Black-Weeds to adorn.
And so the Centuries roll on and the carnage still burns,
How the rank smoke of War still blots out the bright Sun.
To Live and to Love every Spirit must yearn ,
Not cowering in fear by the Howl of a Gun.
And so It is my lads I’m off to the fight,
Leaving Home laid in Meadows dressed in Nature’s rich tone,
The scent of the Garden with my Rose-Blossoms of White,
And the one who awaits for a Soldier to come home.