Page:A New Zealand verse (1906).pdf/45
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The Battle of the Free.
9
And the sound of gathering armies in the Island of the Sea?
Hear ye not the voice that calls them to the Battle of the Free?
Tis the voice of England calling on the free-born and the brave
To defend the lands of Freedom from the tyrant and the slave.
This is why her navies ride
On the gloomy northern tide;
This is why her cannons roar
On the distant Euxine shore,
And her children haste away
To mingle in the bloody fray.
No lingering or debating till the deadly fight be won.
The maiden sends her lover,—and the mother sends her son.
They are gathering, they are gathering, from the mountain and the lea,
To rally round the banner of the Island of the Free.
Old England’s arms are ringing
In hamlet and in hall,
And her sons, the sons of freedom,
Are coming at her call !
They are coming—they are coming—
To upraise the banner of the Island of the Sea,
And to fight in the Battle of the Free.
Hear ye not the voice that calls them to the Battle of the Free?
Tis the voice of England calling on the free-born and the brave
To defend the lands of Freedom from the tyrant and the slave.
This is why her navies ride
On the gloomy northern tide;
This is why her cannons roar
On the distant Euxine shore,
And her children haste away
To mingle in the bloody fray.
No lingering or debating till the deadly fight be won.
The maiden sends her lover,—and the mother sends her son.
They are gathering, they are gathering, from the mountain and the lea,
To rally round the banner of the Island of the Free.
Old England’s arms are ringing
In hamlet and in hall,
And her sons, the sons of freedom,
Are coming at her call !
They are coming—they are coming—
To upraise the banner of the Island of the Sea,
And to fight in the Battle of the Free.
To arms ! To arms !
What are they, those glittering hosts,
Gathering on the neighbouring coasts
That look out on the waters of the Island of the Free?
See! their Eagles are mingled with the banners of the sea,
And their joyous shout of greeting comes wafted unto thee.
What are they, those glittering hosts,
Gathering on the neighbouring coasts
That look out on the waters of the Island of the Free?
See! their Eagles are mingled with the banners of the sea,
And their joyous shout of greeting comes wafted unto thee.