Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79.

London Tower

The Song of the Western Men

By Robert Stephen Hawker (1803–1875)

A GOOD sword and a trusty hand!

A merry heart and true!

King James’s men shall understand

What Cornish lads can do.

And have they fixed the where and when?

And shall Trelawny die?

Here ’s twenty thousand Cornish men

Will know the reason why!

Out spake their captain brave and bold,

A merry wight was he:

“If London Tower were Michael’s hold,

We ’ll set Trelawny free!

“We ’ll cross the Tamar, land to land,

The Severn is no stay,—

With one and all, and hand in hand,

And who shall bid us nay?

“And when we come to London Wall,

A pleasant sight to view,

Come forth! come forth, ye cowards all,

Here ’s men as good as you.

“Trelawny he ’s in keep and hold,

Trelawny he may die;

But here ’s twenty thousand Cornish bold

Will know the reason why!”