by Lena Guilbert Ford (1870 - 1916/8)
Till the boys come home
Language: English
They were summoned from the hillside, They were called in from the glen, And the country found them ready At the stirring call for men. Let no tears add to their hardship, As the soldiers pass along, And although your heart is breaking Make it sing this cheery song. Keep the home fires burning, While your hearts are yearning, Though your lads are far away They dream of home; There's a silver lining Through the dark cloud shining, Turn the dark cloud inside out, Till the boys come home. Over seas there came a pleading, "Help a nation in distress," And we gave our glorious laddies; Honour made us do no less, For no gallant son of Britain To a foreign yoke shall bend, And no Englishman is silent To the sacred call of friend.
Authorship:
- by Lena Guilbert Ford (1870 - 1916/8) [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 Ivor Novello (1893 - 1951), "Till the boys come home", published 1914. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 135