William McCarty, comp. The American National Song Book. 1842.
The Soldier LadCharles L. S. Jones
W
Broke loud o’er Freedom’s plain;
And old England’s red flag, flowing,
Swept proudly o’er the main;
I heard Columbia’s war-note
Inspiring, loud and high,
On answering echoes borne, float
Through Freedom’s natal sky:
And, while my heart beat proud in joy,
Though Love behind sigh’d sad,
My father’s sword I girded on,
A young and soldier lad.
(Where fell Destruction smiled
O’er the dying and the wounded,
Of life and hope despoil’d;)
Nor fear nor doubt betray’d me
Where veteran legions bled,
Nor coward lingering stay’d me,
Nor droop’d my towering head:
And though I wept war’s ruthless pangs,
In pensive silence sad,
Yet for Liberty my broadsword flash’d—
A young and soldier lad.
And peace resumes her reign;
Still a young and ardent lover,
I seek my fair again.
If she, as when we parted,
With kindly feeling glow,
She shall find me still true-hearted
To friend as well as foe;
Nor longer shall her bosom throb,
In anxious sorrow sad,
But clasp me to her arms in joy,
Her own young soldier lad.