’Tis morn, but scarce yon
level sun
Can pierce the war-clouds,
rolling dun,
Where furious Frank, and fiery
Hun,
Shout
in their sulphurous canopy.
The combat deepens. On,
ye brave
Who rush to glory or the grave!
Wave, Munich! all thy banners
wave,
And
charge with all thy chivalry!
Few, few shall part, where
many meet!
The snow shall be their winding-sheet,
And every turf beneath their
feet
Shall
be a soldier’s sepulcher.
THOMAS CAMPBELL.
MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME.
The sun shines bright in the
old Kentucky home;
’Tis summer, the darkeys
are gay;
The corn-top’s ripe,
and the meadow’s in the bloom,
While the birds
make music all the day.
The young folks roll on the
little cabin floor,
All merry, all
happy and bright;
By-’n’-by hard
times comes a-knocking at the door:—
Then my old Kentucky
home, good-night!
Weep no more,
my lady,
O, weep no more
to-day!
We will sing one song for
the old Kentucky home,
For the old Kentucky
home, far away.
They hunt no more for the
’possum and the coon,
On the meadow,
the hill, and the shore;
They sing no more by the glimmer
of the moon,
On the bench by
the old cabin door.
The day goes by like a shadow
o’er the heart,
With sorrow, where
all was delight;
The time has come when the
darkeys have to part:—
Then my old Kentucky
home, good-night!
The head must bow, and the
back will have to bend,
Wherever the darkey
may go;
A few more days, and the trouble
all will end,
In the field where
the sugar-canes grow.
A few more days for to tote
the weary load,—
No matter, ’twill
never be light;
A few more days till we totter
on the road:—
Then my old Kentucky
home, good-night!
Weep
no more, my lady,
O,
weep no more to-day!
We will sing one
song for the old Kentucky home,
For
the old Kentucky home, far away.
STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER.
OLD FOLKS AT HOME.
Way down upon de Swanee Ribber,
Far, far away,
Dere’s wha my heart
is turning ebber,
Dere’s wha
de old folks stay.
All up and down de whole creation
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for de old plantation,
And for de old
folks at home.
All
de world am sad and dreary,
Eberywhere
I roam;
Oh,
darkeys, how my heart grows weary,
Far
from de old folks at home!
All round de little farm I
wandered
When I was young,
Den many happy days I squandered,
Many de songs
I sung.
When I was playing wid my
brudder
Happy was I;
Oh, take me to my kind old
mudder!
Dere let me live
and die.