by William Smyth (1765 - 1849)
The soldier
Language: English
Then, soldier! Come fill high the wine, For we reck not of tomorrow; Be ours today and we resign All the rest to the fools of sorrow. Gay be the hour 'til we beat to arms Then comrade Death or Glory; 'Tis Victory in all her charms, Or 'tis Fame in the world's bright story. 'Tis you, 'tis I that may meet the ball; And me it better pleases In battle, brave, with the brave to fall, Than to die of dull diseases; Driveller to be in my fireside chair With saws and tales unheeded; A tottering thing of aches and care No longer lov'd nor needed. But thou, O dark is thy flowing hair, Andthine eye with fire is streaming, And o'er thy cheek, thy looks, thine air, Sits health in triumph beaming. Thou, brother soldier, fill the wine, Fill high to love and beauty; Love, friendship, honour, all are thine, Thy country and thy duty.
Authorship:
- by William Smyth (1765 - 1849) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "The soldier", WoO 157 no. 2 (1818), from 12 songs of various nationalities, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Georg Pertz) , "Der Krieger"
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2005-12-08
Line count: 24
Word count: 157