Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
II. FreedomSong of the Western Men
Robert Stephen Hawker (18031875)
A
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 Trelawney die?
Then twenty thousand Cornish men
Will know the reason why.
What! will they scorn Tre, Pol, and Pen?
And shall Trelawney die?
Then twenty thousand under ground
Will know the reason why.
A merry wight was he:
“Though London’s Tower were Michael’s hold,
We ’ll set Trelawney free.
We ’ll cross the Tamar hand to hand,
The Exe shall be no stay;
We ’ll side by side from strand to strand,
And who shall bid us nay?
What! will they scorn Tre, Pol, and Pen?
And shall Trelawney die?
Then twenty thousand Cornish men
Will know the reason why.
We ’ll shout with it in view,
‘Come forth, come forth, ye cowards all!
We ’re better men than you!
Trelawney, he ’s in keep and hold,
Trelawney, he may die;
But here ’s twenty thousand Cornish bold
Will know the reason why!’
What! will they scorn Tre, Pol, and Pen?
And shall Trelawney die?
Then twenty thousand under ground
Will know the reason why.”