LESSON 23 YE MARINERS OF ENGLAND

YE MARINERS OF ENGLAND

THOMAS CAMPBELL (1777-1844), Scottish poet; born in Glasgow; renowned for his war songs, among which are The Battle of the Baltic, Hohenlinden, Ye Mariners of England .

YE Mariners of England

That guard our native seas!

Whose flag has braved [1] a thousand years

The battle and the breeze!

Your glorious standard launch again

To match another foe:

As ye sweep through the deep,

While the stormy winds do blow;

While the battle rages loud and long

And the stormy winds do blow.

The spirits of your fathers

Shall start from every wave—

For the deck it was their field of fame,

And Ocean was their grave:

Where Blake [2] and mighty Nelson [3] fell

Your manly hearts shall glow,

As ye sweep through the deep,

While the stormy winds do blow;

While the battle rages loud and long

And the stormy winds do blow.

Britannia needs no bulwarks [4] ,

No towers along the steep;

Her march is o’er the mountain-waves,

Her home is on the deep.

With thunders from her native oak [5]

She quells the floods below—

A DREADNOUGHT

As they roar on the shore,

When the stormy winds do blow;

When the battle rages loud and long

And the stormy winds do blow.

The meteor-flag of England

Shall yet terrific burn;

Till danger’s troubled night depart

And the star of peace return.

Then, then, ye ocean-warriors!

Our song and feast shall flow

To the fame of your name,

When the storm has ceased to blow;

When the fiery fight is heard no more,

And the storm has ceased to blow.

—T. CAMPBELL

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[1] flag has braved: The Red Cross Flag of St. George has lived through war and tempest.

[2] Blake (1599-1657): A famous English Admiral of the Commonwealth Period.

[3] Nelson (1758-1805): The greatest English admiral, the hero of Trafalgar.

[4] bulwarks: Walls of defence.

[5] native oak: Warships of old were built of oak.