Living

Cheer, Boys, Cheer

by Charles Mackay, LL.D. born 1814; living 1855–57

From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, vol. 6 (1855–57)

Living

Cheer, boys! cheer! no more of idle sorrow;
Courage, true hearts, shall bear us on our way!
Hope points before, and shews the bright to-morrow--
Let us forget the darkness of to-day!
So farewell, England! much as we may love thee,
We 'll dry the tears that we have shed before;
Why should we weep to sail in search of fortune?
So farewell, England! farewell evermore!
Cheer, boys! cheer! for England, mother England!
Cheer, boys! cheer! the willing strong right hand;
Cheer, boys! cheer! there 's work for honest labour,
Cheer, boys! cheer! in the new and happy land!

Cheer, boys! cheer! the steady breeze is blowing,
To float us freely o'er the ocean's breast;
The world shall follow in the track we 're going,
The star of empire glitters in the west.
Here we had toil and little to reward it,
But there shall plenty smile upon our pain;
And ours shall be the mountain and the forest,
And boundless prairies, ripe with golden grain.
Cheer, boys! cheer! for England, mother England!
Cheer, boys! cheer! united heart and hand!
Cheer, boys! cheer! there 's wealth for honest labour,
Cheer, boys! cheer! in the new and happy land!

MLA

Mackay, Charles, LL.D. “Cheer, Boys, Cheer.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/mackay_c/9/.

Chicago

Mackay, Charles, LL.D. “Cheer, Boys, Cheer.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/mackay_c/9/.

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More by Charles Mackay, LL.D.