YES, LET ME LIKE A SOLDIER FALL
Reading edition
AS SUNG, IN THE OPERA OF “MARITANA,”
BY MR. FRAZER.
MY FATHER HE WAS NOT A KING.
WRITTEN AND ADAPTED TO THE FOLLOWING AIR,
BY E. R. JOHNSTON.
My father, he was not a king,
A soldier brave was he.
He fell responding to the call
That made his Country free.
Yes! let me like a Soldier fall,
Upon some open plain.
This breast expanding for the ball,
To blot out ev’ry stain.
No prouder title I would claim,
No prouder boast! ’tis well,
The blood that courses thro’ my veins
No brighter birth may tell,
The blood that courses thro’ my veins
No brighter birth may tell.
No brighter birth may tell.
Brave manly hearts confer my doom
That gentler ones may tell,
Howe’er forgot, unknown my tomb,
I like a Soldier fell.
Howe’er forgot, unknown my tomb,
I like a Soldier fell,
I like a Soldier fell!
1
My mother she was not a queen!
Nor titles graced her brow;
But hers a free and noble heart,
In heaven rests ere now.
And I in Freedom’s mould am cast,
No prouder boast! ’tis well,
The blood that courses thro’ my veins
No brighter birth may tell.
2
I only ask of that proud race
Which ends its blaze in me,
To die the last and not disgrace
Its ancient chivalry.
Tho’ o’er my clay no banner wave,
Nor trumpet requiem swell,
Enough, they murmur o’er my grave,
He like a Soldier fell.
3
There is a land where Freedom dwells
A land where all are blest,
A land that holds the glorious tombs
Of heroes now at rest;
That land I love, it is my home,
Of it I boast, ’tis well!
The blood that courses thro’ my veins
No brighter birth may tell.
Transcriber’s Notes:
Archaic spellings and hyphenation have been retained as well as some spellings peculiar to Graham’s. Punctuation has been corrected without note. Other errors have been corrected as noted below. For illustrations, some caption text may be missing or incomplete due to condition of the originals used for preparation of the eBook.
page 75, In the mornining ==> In the morning
page 76, derelection of Hubert ==> dereliction of Hubert
page 77, up the close-pins, ==> up the clothes-pins,
page 77, over the close-fold, ==> over the clothes-fold,
page 78, its apprisal, and then ==> its appraisal, and then
page 85, persistance in whatever ==> persistence in whatever
page 87, ere I had had heard ==> ere I had heard
page 91, with an unfaultering and ==> with an unfaltering and
page 93, sprained ancle. Gentle ==> sprained ankle. Gentle
page 93, world was you doing ==> world were you doing
page 93, the bed of Dalhias ==> the bed of Dahlias
page 93, Your beautiful Dalhias ==> Your beautiful Dahlias
page 95, the battle of Corrunna ==> the battle of Corunna,
page 96, harrass that honorable ==> harass that honorable
page 107, was brought fourth wounded, ==> was brought forth wounded,
page 107, some characteristic attententions ==> some characteristic attentions
page 109, the day thus began in ==> the day thus begun in
page 118, played, eat together, ==> played, ate together,
page 122, I poured over ==> I pored over
page 122, a strange, quiet enthuasm, ==> a strange, quiet enthusiasm,
page 126, beak was too inches ==> beak was two inches
page 127, common in Peru and Chili ==> common in Peru and Chile
page 131, betray the ininfluence ==> betray the influence
page 132, By William Gammel ==> By William Gammell
music page 2, But her’s a free ==> But hers a free