The Lancaster Ledger

The Lancaster Volunteer's Farewell

Farewell sweet home,
The hour is come!
I must bid thee adieu;
The sound of war
Is heard from afar:
To my Colours I'll be true.

And when I stand
Mid the brightest band
Of old Carolina's sons,
I'll think of the days
And the merry lays
Of music in our homes.

When Cannons roar
On a distant shore,
I will think of my lovely bride;
When with heart and hand
We both did stand
And our solemn pledges tried.

In dreams of night,
When the noise of fight
Hath ceased 'till the morning dawn,
I will see my love
Like a turtle dove
And hear her voice in the lawn.

But when I awake
To my mistake!
"Twas the voice of the fife and drum,
And a voice to the skies
In wild Hurras:
"Tis the foe they come! they come!

Then I'll rush on
Amidst that throng,
Of the noble and the brave :
Our hearts and our hands
We will free from bands,
And our country's rights we will save.

I have left behind
A parent kind,
A Father or a Mother:
Or perchance 'twill be,
(Still dear to me)
A Sister or a Brother.

Or a beautiful Child,
On whom I smiled
With a parent's tender care;
Or a loving wife,
The joy of my life;
All these I will think of there.

And though I fall
Amidst that squall,
Where thundering cannons roar,
No blot on my name
From the field of fame
Shall my country e'er deplore.

Then farewell sweet home,
The hour is come;
I must bid thee adieu,
The sound of war
Is heard afar,
To my Colours I'll be true.

EXILE.